Labour Relations Certificate Spring 2009
Strategic preparation is critical to successful collective bargaining. This workshop focuses on determining the needs and interests of management and the bargaining unit and aligning collective bargaining objectives with overall business objectives. You will cover:
• Setting management’s collective bargaining priorities
• Computation of the costs associated with bargaining proposals and contract terms
• Formulation of bargaining strategies on difficult economic and operational issues
Key Topics
• Assessment and preparatory research
– Identifying internal and external factors that may influence negotiations
– Review of grievance and arbitration logs
– Obtaining input from supervisors and managers
– Analysis and assembly of negotiation information
– Bargaining unit demographics
– Wage rates, benefits, and current cost data
– Area surveys of wages and benefits
– Surveys of settlements and industrial patterns
• Determining management objectives and bargaining positions
– Determining collective bargaining priorities
– Setting operational and economic objectives
• Anticipating union demands and formulating management’s possible responses
• Costing of economic items in the current contract and projected collective bargaining agreements
• Identifying strike and settlement issues
Contract Administration: Step One to Arbitration - $1,445
April 28-30 2009
Designed specifically for the Bermuda Employer’s Council, this three-day interactive program provides critical information and skills on critical contract administration issues.
Effective Discipline: Best Practices for a Unionized Environment.
Disciplinary decisions are subject to rigorous scrutiny. As a result, anyone involved in formulation or implementing disciplinary decisions must have command of the principles of progressive discipline as well as a solid understanding of the "best practices" for administering discipline. At this workshop, experienced arbitrators and labor relations professionals will provide you with practical knowledge and insight about the discipline process. Participants will be able to:
• Analyze discipline problems
• Respond effectively and appropriately to disciplinary problems
• Identify and assess just cause
Investigation Tools and Techniques: Developing Facts and Evidence.
A full and fair investigation is a critical to ensure the validity of any disciplinary action imposed and is also a critical component of due process. Participants will learn and apply investigation “best practices,” including an investigation methodology to ensure accurate and complete factual findings. In addition, the we will cover:
• Analysis and investigation of major disciplinary offenses
• Practical techniques for conducting investigatory interviews
Contract Language
A collective bargaining agreement is a living document referred to by the parties involved on a daily basis. Whether they are administering contract language or proposing language at the bargaining table, this workshop is designed to provide labor relations practitioners with a solid, practical understanding of what contract language means and how it will likely be interpreted in the event of a contract language dispute.
Key Topics
• Principles of contract interpretation
– Determining how language is (or will be) construed
– Arbitrators’ views on contract language
• The role and impact of past practice
– Standards for defining/proving a binding past practice
– The impact of past practice on the meaning of contract language
– Termination of a past practice
• Management Rights
– Understanding the source of management’s rights
– How management’s rights can be affected by contract language and/or past practices
– How arbitrators view the doctrine of reserved rights
Effective Grievance Handling
Participants will develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to promote productive, efficient, and successful handling of grievances, ensuring that management is gleaning maximum benefit from the process. The workshop will cover:
• The do's and don'ts of grievance processing
• Evaluating a grievance in the context of the "big picture"
• Grievance documentation "best practices"
• Drafting grievance responses
• Conducting the grievance meeting to secure maximum benefit for management
• Strategic grievance handling
• Grievance settlement, including generation and evaluation of settlement options and drafting of settlement agreements
Effective Collective Bargaining Skills & Strategies & Dynamics of Labour Negotiations - $1,395 - May 21 -22, 2009
Effective Collective Bargaining Skills and Strategies
The effective negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement requires a thorough understanding of the negotiation process. This knowledge will enable you to develop and implement negotiation strategies necessary to achieve your objectives. This workshop covers:
• Bargaining plans, strategies, and tactics
• Preparing for face-to-face negotiation sessions
• Handling negotiations at the bargaining table
• How to obtain an agreement
Key Topics
• Developing bargaining plans, strategies, and proposals
• Steps to establishing an overall negotiation strategy
• Systems for managing the bargaining committee
• Techniques for developing offers
• Methods for resolving union proposals
• Maximizing effectiveness at the bargaining table
• Strategically presenting offers throughout bargaining
• What to do during 11th-hour negotiations
• How to settle the sticky issues and reach agreement
• A checklist for communications during negotiations
• Preparing a memorandum of agreement
• How to develop a strike contingency plan
• Determining whether to use a mediator
Prerequisite: “Preparation for Collective Bargaining” or equivalent knowledge
Increasing Effectiveness in Arbitration - $1,445 - June 23-25, 2009
This Cornell program is intended to give students a solid foundation and hands-on experience in preparing and presenting cases in arbitration. The course consists of a number of skill-building workshops including presenting a case before a professional arbitrator. Cornell’s extraordinary experience in labor arbitration advocacy and arbitrator development makes it the world’s premiere institution for the study of workplace conflict resolution.
Program Agenda and Highlights:
Advocacy in Arbitration: Practices and Problems
1. The Law of Arbitration
a. Arbitration Agreements;
b. Questions of Arbitrability;
c. Consolidation and Class Action
d. Modern Arbitration Statutes
2. The Arbitrators
a. Background and Training Requirements;
b. How Parties Select Arbitrators;
c. Arbitrators’ Authority and Limits
d. Arbitrator’s Awards: Finality and Limits on Appeals
3. Determining Whether to Go to Arbitration
a. Assessing the Legal and Factual strengths and weaknesses of the case
4. Preparing the Case for Hearing
a. Selecting the Advocacy Team
b. Determining the Theory of the Case
c. Discovery in Arbitration – Fact or Fiction?
d. The Role of the Arbitrator in Pre-Hearing Procedural Issues
5. Choosing the Right Witnesses for the Case-
6. The Hearing: Protocols for Case Presentation
a. Opening Statements: When and How
i. The hallmark of a good opening statement;
ii. Mistakes that later come back to haunt the advocate
iii. Opening Statement Workshop
b. Direct & Cross Examination: Workshop
i. Learning when not to object.
ii. Evidence in Arbitration
7. Closing Arguments and Post-Hearing Briefs
a. Checklist for successful summations
b. Rebuttal Briefs: Necessary or Overkill?
c. Elements of a good post-hearing brief
d. Closing Argument Workshop
8. The Arbitration Award
a. Elements of a Good award
b. Mistakes which may result in challenges by the losing party
c. Arbitrators’ Jurisdiction: After the Hearing; After the Award
d. The Role of the Courts
9. Final Workshop: Putting It All Together
a. Arbitration Case Study
b. Opening Statements
c. Direct and Cross Examination
d. Closing Arguments
e. Arbitrator’s Decision
Negotiation Strategies and Tactics in Employment Mediation - $1,445 July 7-8, 2009
This unique workshop brings together the skills and framework necessary to succeed in either negotiation or mediation. You will understand the similar theories and approaches that can be used in both contexts while distinguishing the additional complexity of employment mediation.
This workshop blends lectures, demonstrations and role-play exercises to maximize your understanding of the dynamics and principles of the negotiation process.
Course Highlights include:
• A Framework for Understanding Disputes
• The Application of Game Theory to Bargaining
• Preparing for and Utilizing Mutual Gains Bargaining
• Negotiations in Mediation: The Advocate's Role
o developing the negotiations game plan
o preparing your client for mediation
o how to "negotiate" with your client when he/she feels he/she is at an advantage/disadvantage
o hates the opposing party
o is unreasonable, unrealistic and refuses to make concessions
• Employment Mediation & Negotiation: The Mediator's Perspective
• Understanding power imbalances and learning how to use them to broker sound settlements
• Common mediator mistakes and how to avoid them
• Negotiations Dynamics in
• Facilitative mediation
• Evaluative Mediation
