October 31 Blog

Thanks, Bob, for the positive comments. I absolutely agree that the relationship between the union, the Board, and the administrators is crucial to student achievement. This is just another reason why trust and credibility is essential not only during negotiations but always. I learned a lot of useful information in this class. The presentations were all very informative. I was very glad to have the definition of past practice. I am always careful when making decisions to ensure I am not establishing past practice, so I feel better to know that it is not as easy to establish it as I thought.

Last Weekend

It got much easier to negotiate when we knew that our time together was drawing to an end. I doubt that it is always that easy. I do see the importance of trust in the negotiation process and the roles of stabilizers and destabilizers. I enjoyed the process, especially after we got on the same page with our documentation. I'll miss you guys!

Wow what a fantastic day. We got to see a culmination to the simulation. My experience with it up until yesterday was spotty until Dr. Closen had us combine our requests. The light bulbs went off and the angels began to sing for me. For what ever reason that method made the entire process click for me and I felt like I had a total understanding of the process. This led to our successful completion today. I appreciated all of the work that everybody put into their presentations and I learned a great deal from them. After watching them I am now not as sold as I was on using Interest based bargaining. It would have to be a great fit for the participants involved for sure. Thanks everybody for contributing to another great class. Dr. Closen it was a great experience. Thanks GS

Last Sunday Reflection

One other item from yesterday class that I forgot to mention was about the taping of executive session minutes. I now understand when they can be listen to and when it is not appropriate.

In todays class, I enjoyed watching the different you tube videos about the different topics. There is so much out there on collective bargaining, I think it is important to watch these and gain a better understanding.

unions

I appreciated Paula's presentation concerning unions. Thinking about what paula presented made me more aware that the teachers are not only the union, but they are our coworkers, and our partners to educate our students. We need to bargain with dignity and empathy and remember that we are in this together.

Saturday, 10/30/10 was a great class! The discussion about close session tapes and who can listen to them was new to me. I'm very glad I learned about that. The negotiation process really got going yesterday and led to some new knowledge as well. When Dr. Closen pointed out the real salary increase including steps it really opened my eyes. The true cost of raises needs to be understood. Our negotiation session yesterday was excellent too. We continue to refine our table behavior while learning more nuances of negotiating I really enjoyed yesterday's class while learning a great deal. Very relevant class.

Saturday's Simulation

It was a long day of simulation, but we did make progress. It's all down to the money now. What a huge responsibility to make sure that you calculate the increased salary and insurance correctly! It's important to get the school attorney involved and make sure that you get that straight.