Labor Agreements: Interpretation

The Contract Cost worksheets should be used to work out cost estimates for issues on the negotiating table. It is also a good idea to work out three indexes before you even come to the table: You should know the historical rate of add-on costs. This will give you a quick way of estimating the package roll-up costs of any proposal. You should also calculate the total cost of a 1% wage increase and a 1-cent (or 10-cent) increase. With these two figures in mind, you can quickly estimate the cost of a proposed wage issues.

As useful as the worksheets are, there is much that they do not cover. Bargaining is very dependent on the political environment in which it occurs: By its structure, management and labor are adversaries; but some structures stress this more than others. A new negotiator may be tested by seasoned opponents. Earlier, unresolved issues may come back, never explicity on the table but underlying everything that is being said. Contract cost is also only one of the important issues in collective bargaining. Depending on circumstances, labor may be willing to make wage concessions in return for "language" concessions like the role of supervisors, the number and privileges of labor representatives, union security, merit, and terms of arbitration. Focusing only on the economic issues is a sure way to achieve few of your objectives in contract negotiations.

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