BARGAINING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37
cent for salary increases. But now…
“If you take them to interest arbitration, they can get hit for
more than 2 percent,” he explained. “So development of leverage
is more important than ever. Develop through preparation. Un-
derstand how to exert that leverage to get them to give you what
want because of the chance that they might pay more in interest
arbitration.”
That said, the government entities Locals are bargaining with
will most likely argue that the 2-percent municipal tax levy re-
stricts agreeing to wage increases. Consequently, the bargaining
process has become even more reliant on collecting, understand-
ing and using the most complete and accurate information.
“Bargaining that is rooted in a sophisticated empirical ap-
proach that is based on hard evidence and economic data will be
more important than ever,” Crivelli implored. “It is important for
the Locals to demonstrate to their employers that the empirical
evidence dictates that they deserve the economic package that is
being presented and if they refuse to agree to it, there is a realistic
possibility that it will be awarded in interest arbitration.”
Back-up
Preparation begets application, and the 2019 seminar offered
substantive discussion about how to bring it. To the table.
Union County Corrections Local 199 Financial Secretary Mi-
chael Figueiredo went outside the box with Freeman and discov-
ered a new set of tools for the Local’s bargaining toolbox. And a
new perspective about how to use them.
“A lot of compromise, a lot of patience,” he began. “It’s like
making a stew. Getting all the information, putting it in the pot
and coming up with your own formula to make the best contract
for our members.”
During “Negotiating Outside the Box Part 1,” Freeman au-
38
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
thored direction about being pot committed. The ingredients he
stirred up included how to apply negotiating strategies to achieve
a win-win outcome for Locals and their employers.
• Part of negotiating is listening. It’s not always an adversar-
ial relationship. A cooperative relationship will get more
for members by not seeming greedy.
• Look at the municipal budget to see if there is room to
open up more money. All that information is a matter of
public record.
• Evaluate all ideas. Essential ideas are ones that have to
go into the next contract. Important ideas are ones you
might have to trade something to get. Desirable ideas are
the nice ones to have. Mention essential, important and
desirable in no specific order and be prepared to justify
the requests.
• Do your due diligence. Use market research to gather in-
formation about comparable jurisdictions. Find out your
employer’s ability to pay.
• Evaluate the BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated
Agreement) for both sides. This can be used for dispute
resolution. What is too much for them? What would make
them walk away? What is too little for you?
• Look for the ZOPA (Zone of Probable Agreement). Above
their BATNA and below your BATNA is the ZOPA.
• Innovative negotiating includes finding ways to turn un-
funded liability like sick time, comp time and tuition re-
imbursement into gains.
• Protect future employees. Don’t kill the unborn, the mem-
bers who haven’t been hired yet. Make sure everybody in
the Local is cared for.
• Know the different types of negotiators. Competitive is
win or lose. Cooperative is win-win. Innovative leads to
gaining more by listening and learning.