UF President-Elect on Negotiations and What Works

Here's what Jeffrey Michels wrote last November (2005)
about the nature of negotiations. Now that we have, today,
approved our new contract with salary restoration to the 2003 level, though no
pay increase, it's instructive to consider, a year-plus later, how things look
in hindsight:


"Negotiations, Adversarialism and Mutuality.

"Irene said in today’s meeting that the faculty want
their money back and at the same time they want our
union reps to get along better with management. She
seemed to suggest that might be a tricky combination.
She said we would not go into negotiations with “our
guns drawn,” but I could see the gun in her pocket
pretty clearly.

"But colleagues, our gun, our threat of a strike, is
NOT our best weapon in winning back our money. The
best weapon is one Irene also mentioned: retention of
good faculty, ability to hire the best newcomers,
morale (which is so crucial to teachers)! We need to
go into these negotiations making it clear that we are
putting last year behind us and that we teachers are
on the same side as the Board and the managers. We
want the best school, the best quality instruction,
the best teachers and a healthy budget. Our new
Chancellor seems to understand that high morale is
crucial to a healthy school. We must build our
relationship with management on shared goals like this
one and resist all the rituals that divide us and make
us adversaries.

"A fine book on this subject is Gordon Fellman’s Rambo
and the Dalai Lama,
which explores the difficulty of shifting from an
adversary paradigm to more mutualistic communication.
Sue, Irene, I will buy a copy for
Hanukah/Christmas/Kwanza."