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Negotiating new “win-win” collective bargaining agreements can help position the business, union leadership, and employees for future success. Here are several guiding principles that our firm, Hutchison Group, has used over the years to achieve successful outcomes:

• Carefully review and assess current collective bargaining agreements to identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement
• Research and recommend industry best practices to ensure your business can successfully compete 
• Talk with first line supervisors to get their perspective on how the current contract performs on a day-to-day basis, and their suggestions for improvements
• Talk with union leadership well in advance of formal negotiations to gain their perspective and understand the union’s priorities. These meetings can also be useful for both parties in shaping realistic expectations for future negotiations 
• Work to develop “win-win” proposals that serve the interest of all parties, and supporting rationale as to why these proposals are fair to all parties
• Develop a robust employee communications plan to help manage employee expectations and ensure everyone has an accurate understanding of the issues, contract proposals, etc.

Learn more about the process and how our team at Hutchison Group is properly positioned to help negotiate “win-win” union contracts. 

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Good Contracts Require Great Preparation

Like most things in life, great preparations are the key to producing a good outcome, and labor contract negotiations are no exception. 

As a first step, it is important for management to develop a good working relationship with union leaders, as mutual trust and respect are essential to achieving a great union contract. To this point, when working with clients, we strongly recommend that their supervisors receive labor relations training. Also, it is imperative that the company carefully assess and prioritize their goals well in advance of the labor contract negotiations and develop a solid supporting rationale for each proposal. 

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Prepare for Contract Ratification 

Too often, good labor contract proposals are not ratified by employees due to poor communications (i.e., misinformation, rumors, or lack of understanding). Once the parties have reached a tentative agreement, our HR Consultants work with clients to prepare a variety of communications to inform and educate employees about the new labor agreement, why the union negotiation proposals are fair, and how everyone can benefit from their implementation. If these steps are not taken, there is a good chance that rumors and other misinformation will derail the ratification vote, which could have a devastating effect on the company, union leadership, and employees.

Competitive Labor Agreements Are Essential for Success

Working together with management and union leaders, our labor relations consultants help identify meaningful opportunities that can improve the company’s ability to compete in their respective industry, helping to ensure a good future for all parties. Special emphasis is placed on cost management strategies, productivity improvements, and the company’s ability to attract and retain talented employees. Lastly, working with both parties, our union relations consultants strive to structure the new agreement to promote union-management cooperation, and minimize future conflicts and disruptions. The results of our labor negotiations typically include: 

• Control costs and improve productivity 
• Eliminate restrictive work rules for increased flexibility 
• Simplify union contracts to ease administration and reduce potential conflicts 
• Improve communications to promote employee and union engagement

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Proactive Planning Can Reassure Shareholders 

As an added benefit, developing an effective plan and strategy well in advance of labor contract negotiations can help to reassure investors and shareholders that the union labor negotiations will have a successful outcome. As we all know, excessive costs, restrictive work practices, and union conflicts can all negatively impact stock price and company valuation.