Contract Negotiations Bring out the Devil

A Good Contract is the Most Important Document You Can Have

By Dave Arnold

A good contract is the most important document an employee can have. This makes it critical for Education Support Professionals to get involved in contract negotiations.

I look at contract negotiations like buying a used car. In both cases you are dealing with the devil. I might be exaggerating some, but neither is a pleasant task. Unfortunately, both are a part of life for many people.

If you get a good deal in contract negotiations, as with a car, it is a benefit. But anything that is a benefit or privilege can be given or taken from you. This was the topic discussed when another Education Support Professional (ESP) and I were asked to facilitate a custodian maintenance roundtable discussion at an ESP conference.

I was sure that my co-presenter and I would have members in our group that had never been on a negotiating team. I wanted an illustration that would describe to them what negotiations would be like. After digging through some graphics, I found the perfect illustration. It was a picture of the devil setting at a desk with the caption, "Let's make a deal."

Deal Us In

Anytime you sit at a bargaining table, you can be certain that the opposing party will do their best to take advantage of you. Before our local Association in Brownstown was organized, my co-workers and I were totally dependent upon labor laws and the school board's policy.

While labor laws were permanent, we found that board policy was constantly changing with little notice. Even worse, most board members knew little about labor law. Since a contract is the most important document an employee can have, it is vital that ESP have direct input during contract negotiations.

Since my local is very small, each employee classification has a representative on our negotiating team. I am not comfortable debating issues that involve another employee's classification. Just as I would not want someone who is unfamiliar with my job negotiating language pertaining to my classification.

It's just like voting for a candidate. If you don't participate in the political process then you allow someone else to control your Association, your community, your country. It's important to get involved. I'm sure that in some cases, like larger Associations, it is not possible to have each classification represented by a negotiator at the bargaining table.

Learn the Ropes

Still, this is no excuse for ESP not to be involved in some capacity. A team always needs those players behind the scenes to help with writing proposals, researching issues, and helping with mundane-but-necessary tasks, such as making photocopies.

Being an observer during negotiations is a good opportunity to train as a negotiator. Observers are also excellent at picking up on the attitude and body language of the board's negotiators. This is important, for seldom do entire teams agree with every aspect of a proposal. If one member dislikes one issue, this might force the rejection of the complete proposal.

My sincerest sympathy goes to state Associations that have no bargaining rights. I can't think of a better way of describing the absence of bargaining rights other than to call it a dictatorship. School district dictatorships should be challenged.

Call Congress

Legislators can help your cause here. They are truly the servants of the public. Many are willing to listen to voters. So, write to them, call them, and lobby until you win your bargaining rights. To me, the absence of the right to bargain contract language is an infringement on our freedom of speech.

The Constitution guarantees the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I cannot understand how a legislator could possibly believe that a group of employees could pursue happiness without the right to bargain a contract of employment.

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.