SAVE THE DATES!! MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22 & 29, 2016
Where?: TBD, but probably the Wang back stage door in a meeting room.
WHY?: The Executive Board is ready to present the 2015-2017 IATSE Local B4 Wang and Shubert Contracts before ALL HOUSES legitimate voting members at a Contract Ratification Meeting. Below are steps that take place with contracts from negotiations to execution. We are at the third * in the process. For the full process, visit:
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/120701-CBWhatisitandHow-itWorks-3page.pdf
* Starting negotiations. Once the bargaining style has been determined, the teams prepare based on the style selected, agree on ground rules, meet at an agreeable location, and start negotiations. State law and court cases determine the mandatory, permissive, and prohibited subjects of bargaining. * Reaching a tentative agreement. When both bargaining teams are satisfied with the changes, they sign a “tentative agreement.” It is only tentative until it has been formally approved by the union’s members and the employer’s governing board. If the two teams are not able to reach agreement, they can pursue impasse options provided in state law that may lead to a settlement. There may be four impasse options, depending on state law, and one or all could be used to settle a dispute: ? Mediation. An impartial neutral person facilitates dialogue between the parties to help them create and reach a resolution. ? Fact-finding. A neutral third party hears presented evidence from the parties and makes a formal nonbinding recommendation to the parties. The parties can either accept or reject the recommendation. ? Interest arbitration. A neutral arbitrator conducts a formal hearing, analyzes the information presented, and makes a formal binding decision. ? Strike. The union engages in a concerted collective action, through which its members withhold services in order to achieve a settlement. With thousands of education employee contracts bargained each year, fewer than ten, on average, result in a strike.
* Ratifying the contract. When the union and employer teams have reached a tentative contract agreement, they review the proposal with their respective constituency groups. The union holds a ratification meeting where members ask questions and offer opinions on the tentative contract agreement. Individuals are then asked to vote, usually by secret ballot, on the tentative agreement. Absentee ballots may also be available so that everyone has an opportunity to vote. A majority of votes determines if the contract is ratified or rejected. The management team generally seeks approval from the school board. If the tentative agreement is ratified by both sides, then the parties have a new (or successor) agreement. If the tentative contract agreement is not ratified—by either party—the teams usually go back to the bargaining table and continue negotiations. They negotiate until they are able to bring back a new tentative agreement for a vote.
* Changing or clarifying the contract. With the agreement of both parties, any section of a ratified contract can be revised during the term of the contract. In many districts, representatives of labor and management also meet regularly during the term of the contract to talk about and resolve issues of mutual concern. In addition, either at the bargaining table or during the life of a successor contract, the parties can create memoranda of understanding (MOUs). The benefit of the MOU is that it gives the parties an opportunity to reach a temporary agreement on an issue that is important to both the union and the employer.
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