July 20th, 2010

Jay Greening provided his insight on the collective bargaining process. I find it very interesting to have listened to three speakers talk on the same topic...all with a different perspective. I really like the way Jay approaches the bargaining process. He emphasizes the importance to establish good relationships, do your homework ahead of time, and consider the value of "no". Having experienced this firsthand, I appreciate his guidance in trying to provide good practices for the collective bargaining process.

Much of the day was spent going through the negotiations activity. Even though this is a simulation, it is a great way to experience the elements that take place during the bargaining process. The team has been great and our counterparts have been excellent bargaining partners.

July 20

Class was good. The presentation was very informative and like many others have commented, good negotiations start way before anything formal. Honest, trustworthy, straightforward relations get the job done. Our negotiation simulation went well. Our groups work well together and serve as an example of just how smooth things really can go. I am learning a lot about the process, in particular the tricks of the trade such as what 1% on the base will do the whole index. Going through this process for real will serve as the best learning tool. My district negotiates this coming year, so it will be interesting to see how things work out.

7/20 Class

Jay's presentation was interesting. My first thought was about how calm and mild mannered he was. As we broke to do our negotiations we discussed his general demeanor and the fact that he is in a situation where he is representing the district and can walk away at the end whether it is a favorable deal or not. Like others who have posted, being prepared is of the utmost priority. In our simulation, there was a mistake made due to a misunderstanding and another salary schedule issue that was caught by one of the teacher team members. That one error placed the district representation in a poor bargaining position and I wondered whether that could potentially cost a superintendent his/her job is that mistake was made in a real negotiation situation.

July 20

I really enjoyed Jay Greening's presentation. Miller Hall and Triggs represents my district and I have always found them to be a top notch law firm. The handout Jay provided has a great deal of good information that reinforces what we have been discussing in class. As far as negotions I feel that we have hit a turning point in negotiations and should come to an agreement early in the next class. I can't believe some of the language that is included in this contract...very confusing and unreasonable.

class 7/20

When I wasn't coughing, I enjoyed Jay Greening. He is currently our go to Attorney for the Morton school district. I find him to be extremely helpful. What I took from his presentation and packet was preparation. As Superintendent you had better know things front and backwards. The prep sheet he gave us is very valuable. The financial packet was well organized anxious like the spreadsheets. Being able to put numbers in and get immediate feed back is certainly necessary.
The second half of class is getting better for my negotiating group. We are close to a deal.

July 20th

Jay Greening came in and spoke to the class at the start. Jay represents our district and I know him well. I found it interesting that his demeanor was upbeat and I could tell he enjoyed speaking to the class. He made several good points but the one that hit home was doing your homework prior to negotiations. This became evident in our simulation that took part later in the day. We had a misunderstanding and to be truthful it was more of a mistake. I am glad it happened because our group wasn't taking the exercise too serious. We were doing the work and all but we were not real into it and focused. The mistake was something we were willing to do anyway but just not at that time. I have to get props to Joe for calling us on it they were obviously much more in tune to it than we were. It just really hammered home Jay's point about doing your homework and being prepared.

July 20th

Jay Greening gave a very informational presentation of collective bargaining from the Board’s standpoint. He spoke of the importance of preparation and the fact that communication prior to negotiations is a key to success. Essentially what I got out of it is that if you treat people fairly they in return will work with you and trust will be recognized. His perspective on once a board says no to something they must stick with that in order to maintain credibility. His use of examples was helpful and would have enjoyed even more of them so that we could relate better.

We hit the collective bargaining hard on this day. Our group is very close to contract. Though it is a simulation one does feel the pressure not to make a mistake. My group made a mistake and was called to the carpet on it by a very sharp negotiator. We realized we messed up and true to proper collective bargaining we had to honor our mistake and made a major concession to the teachers. All in all a great humbling experience! I feel we will finalize our contract in the last meeting of class and for the most part both sides will be happy.

July 7th

We started to get into the nuts and bolts of negotiations. Sitting on the Board side, I enjoyed listening to the teacher group make their proposal and their rationale behind their demands per the CBA. It is amazing the amount of time, knowledge, and detail it will take to truly be prepared for a negotiation session, particularly from the Board side of the table. Obviously, we have not done it justice in our simulation due to many factors but what we are getting out of it is the enormity of the process and that is an excellent experience. It will be interesting how the simulation will unfold.

I found Dr. House’s visit very informational. I enjoyed listening to everyone’s experiences during their internship. I think slowly we are figuring out that we can do the job of a superintendent but we all have a great deal to learn about the position but that will come with time. The internship will be a very valuable tool for us to continue to gain confidence and knowledge.

July 20th

Our day began with Jay Greening. As I listened to him I can't help but to wonder if any coursework can prepare us for this position. His financial work was helpful and I especially like the one page historical view of fund balances, revenues and expenditures. The more information I hear from our presenters only confirms my thoughts and feeling on the negotiation process. There must be an expert at the table representing the BOE. Clearly it won't be me!
The presentations given by my classmates were insightful and appreciated. Much of our content is overlapping, which is good.
Negotiations are going fine. I think we are down to money and insurance. This has been an interesting exercise. Body language and personalities really come out even in the stimulation (I mean simulation : )... ).

July 20th

Jay Greening kicked off the class today and I found waht he had to say a great reminder of most of what Dr. Closen had already covered with us. It was interesting to listen to him versus the "union goon" who had already spoke to us earlier in the class. I appreciated my classmates presentations and found them to be interesting tidbits of information. As much as I learn in this class I also feel that it uncovers so much more that I now know I don't know. Scary!! Our negotiations seem to be moving a bit quicker than the last time we met but we spent quite a bit of time on language issues and are just now starting to get down to the meat of the contract: money.

July 20

Today began with a guest speaker, Jay Greening. He did a great job of outlining the negotiation process from the Board of Education point of view. Jay emphasized the importance of preparation to be done before you ever sit down at the table and begin negotiations. His spread sheet with comparable districts, and stating the importance of figuring salary increases at 1% are invaluable. Again, he, just like Dr. Closen, have emphasized the importance of "doing your homework" before negotions begin. We spent the majority of the day on contract negotiation simulations. Our group ran into a snafoo, whereby both groups assumed we were looking at the same financial data....and we weren't. That screw up, in the simulation, was enough to prove to me the importance of all parties in the negotiations being on the same page. This simulation is a very worthwhile experience.

Bargaining July 20

We were able to review the first proposal from management to begin today's work. Managements proposal had merit as we looked at it from an administrative stand point. From a teacher's stand point, I found that it was hard to agree to change proposed items. Thoughts of how teachers worked to have these items and the time and battles that it may have took came up. It was hard to give up items knowing that these items may never be given back--although many were obscene from an administrative point of view. These items included five days of leave per death of immediate family, four personal/professional days, and place on salary scale staying while away for other duties. These were easier items to agree to work down. The activity has been educational in the process and in learning how you have to work to keep emotions out. Both sides are working to reach a fair agreement. Hearing from the school attorney was useful in that there were many points presented that if used will be beneficial in future negotiation sessions. Particularly, information regarding duty to bargain is important.

July 20, 2010

As our group is coming to an agreement on the contract and after listening to Chris Dvorak's presentation, I have to believe that there is a better to come to consensus on the collective bargaining agreement. The exercise is going well. Presentations were insightful from classmates. Jay Greening was informational and good. This class has been useful due to my participation in my district's negotiations.

collective bargaining 7/20

Jay Greening spend a couple of hours presenting his experiences with collective bargaining. One of the most useful tools for negotiating would be the salary comparison spreadsheet. Of course the district financial analysis would be a necessity. The historical budget information supplies much needed information for salary and benefits negotiating. The rest of the day was spent on simulation bargaining and presentations. The presentations went well. Bargaining was still frustrating but progress is being made. Slowly!!

Collective Bargaining 7/7

Today was a difficult day of bargaining. I learned a lot by working in our small groups. It was interesting to see how people reacted differently. Our initial sit down did not go well. There were too many people talking. I think both groups learned from the first sit down, and when our group made the first proposal...it went rather smooth.
As a Superintendent, I am learning that patience and not showing emotions can be a good thing most of the time. I have enjoyed working with my group in figuring out the contract and asking for the appropriate thing.
Even though it was not an official part of class, the seminar session was valuable. Listenting to other experiences helps you in your journey.

7/7 Negotiations

First, I have no experience with negotiations other than our simulation in class. Working on a proposal from the side of the union is interesting in that we didn't take into account any of the financial information for the district, which is extremely important from the side of the administrators. I asked a fellow member if the teachers use any financial information when making their initial proposals and they indicated that they do not. I am beginning to understand the rifts that form between the union and the administration when one side is making proposals without the understanding of financial or other restraints. Our negotiation teams are very professional with both teams working well together, I can only imagine the complexity of adding in a hostile party on either side and the implications that it would have on the time that negotiations take and the negative impact on the relationship between the union and administration.

Collective Bargaining 7/7

Our bargaining simulation is going very slowly. Sitting and waiting!! It is important to remember to bring something else to work on as you are waiting for proposals and/or counter-proposals. This is a great experience but a very frustrating one. I am on the union side and I keep finding myself thinking as an administrator. I know all proposals should be considered seriously but do some proposals contain "junk" that are easily given away in hopes of something in return? It was nice to realize that I am right on track with some of the others when it comes to the internship. My frustration is with my superintendent. Instead of including me in "things", he simply says you can join me in whatever I am doing. I guess I'll just be his little side-kick for awhile!! See you all on the 20th.

This class was good. As students, we had practical experiences in the roles of negotiators. The exercise was very realistic, as both sides have to review all the details of each proposal. Overall, the ability to lay decent ground rules was key. With fair boundaries, the rest of the process has been smooth thus far. Our proposal was fair and right to the point. As of now, the team representing the board felt our list was reasonable. I'm sure they will come back with a decent counter-proposal. The class also had a chance to see how all this plays out from a different perspective. With the guest speaker, the union's view was clearly laid out. Most of the discussion/presentation made sense and was easy to follow. Overall, we are gaining an accurate understanding of the enormity of the process and while at the same time experiencing the intricacies as well. I'm looking forward to the final class.

I found the bargaining simulation to be very informative. I have only been on the teacher side of negotiations, so being on the board side gave me a very different perspective. Contract language and working seems to be the most difficult part of this process. Having two side agree on the correct wording and intent seems to be one of the biggest hurdles. This process just reinforces the need for proper planning on both sides to make negotiations run smoothly.

I enjoyed the conversations with Dr. House. It is interesting to see what everyone else in the cohort is doing for their internships. Comparing and contrasting experiences reinforces the diversity of districts and situations we are all in.

July 8

I found our simulation bargaining experience to be pretty right on. I am on the teacher team and our first proposal had some great "ideas" but lacked language. We made those adjustments and both parties spent the majority of the time in caucus. I just recently finished participating in the negotiating of our certified and non-certified contracts. My experience was very similar. We spent the majority of our time in caucus. There were varying experiences within our simulation team, which was good. My group is working together well and are confident our proposal is fair and we will be "TA"ing on many items : )
I think a concern I have is the organization portion of this process in regards to note taking. During my internship experience the superintendent did it all, with some assistance from me. I'm in a small district. So, my mind is spinning on the thoughts of the many ways to organize the process. Having someone be the official note taker is ideal but may not be an option. It has been good to relate my course experience to my internship experience.

July 6th

I found our visitor from the union most interesting, especially since he was previously a building administrator. Clearly not his thing. I have a couple of thoughts or concerns I guess. One being, when did the focus of eduction move from the students to the adults? I'm not saying I want anyone working in an unhealthy environment. I don't understand. When will it end? Will the contract language ever be enough? Will administration and teachers always be compared in regards to salary when clearly we are oranges to apples? And finally, why should the language ever imply anything? Either it specifically states the circumstances or it does not. I think the only other item that raised my brow was his use of he term "full work year". I was a teacher and never worked a full year. I worked 185 days a year. Now as an administrator, my time off isn't even my time off. So, I found that phrase interesting. It was a valuable experience as we now know the different kinds of people and the mindsets we are up against when bargaining.

July 7, 2010

I am amazed at the amount of time that is spent on creating proposals and counter proposals. I do think that unless you have sat through a negotiations you can never truly understand why they take as long as they do, but once you have done that it is an "ah ha" moment in itself. The complexities of the personalities alone can slow the process down. I will have to work on my patience and my "game face" in order to be able to negotiate successfully.
I enjoyed the visit from Dr. House and appreciated hearing everyone else's experiences to date in their internships. It is overwhleming still to me how much is yet to be completed in this experience but I have faith that it will all get done in due time.

July 6th, 2010

I appreciated the guest speaker and the views he shared with us concerning negotiations. I do think that negotiations will be a weakness that I have and feel the least prepared for. I think all of the preparation in the world cannot replace the ability to "do the dance" and have the respect of the other members of the negotiating teams without having to be "the nice guy". I think this is a complex relationship that will take years to develop and may have to be redeveloped with each negotiations and new teams.
I feel that the mock-negotiations that we are participating in are truly one of the hardest assignments that we have had to engage in. Not only is it hard to sit down with those who are your classmates but the prep-work and proposals are exhausting to create and think through. I appreciate the work but it is not something that I have come to enjoy yet:)

July 7th, 2010

I really appreciated the wisdom, knowledge and experiences shared by our guest speaker, Tom McLaughlin. His experiences from the classroom, administration and time as a uniserve director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers provide an excellent perspective by which one should view the collective bargaining process. I really felt the information he presented on is very important for aspiring superintendents.

On Wednesday, we spent a large portion of the day putting together our proposal for the first round of the negotiations process. Having participated in several negotiations, I truly value the experiences gained through this simulation. The activity makes you reflect upon relationships and how to effectively communicate between two parties with different perspectives. The tenants of collective bargaining revolve around trust and good communication.

I enjoyed the opportunity to listen to the internship goals and activities from each member in our cohort. We all know the superintendency will be complex and it is reassuring to see the diverse perspectives from our colleagues.

July 7th blog

Today we worked on our propoals and items of importance concerning the board/union contract negotiations. I found it interesting that my group members found me to be a hard line negotiator. I do not think that this is the case at all I just prefer to be conservative early on. We are in the early stages of negotiations and I do not want to conceed too much too early. We were given the union proposal and it wasn't that unreasonable. We did finish our counter proposal and will distribute that on the 20th. We ended class with Dr. House coming in to discuss our internships. It was insightful to hear what other people are doing or plan to do.

Class July 7

I've enjoyed this day, spent in collective bargaining simulation. We begun by meeting in our entire group, and going over the teacher's proposal to the Board. We listened to their rationale for their proposed items, then we caucussed, to make sure we understood what they are asking. After lunch, we reconvened as a Board group to counter propose to the teachers. We have prepared our counter to propose at our next regularly scheduled meeting. I found it interesting that we (Board group) had quite colorful conversations related to the contract, but it was important we came together as a collective group for the sake of the negotiations. I would guess this is very similar to how a real contract negotiation would be.

We then meet with Dr. House to discuss our internships. I enjoyed listening to what my cohort members have been working on as well. Interesting to see how different yet similar all our experiences are playing out.

July 7

The weekend has been of value to simulate the negotiating of a teacher contract. From the perspective of teacher, we have had to take a step back to provide reasonable proposals to our board. Our group spent much time reviewing the contract to find language and clarity issues to improve the current contract. Roles of board and teachers were well taken as we moved with the activity. Working under our ground rules has allowed us to negotiate effectively. It will be interesting to see where our final contract is agreed upon--with short time, we have all worked to simulate the true activity while being as close to reality as possible. I believe that language items will be settled quickly and agreeably while financial items will be resolved without agreement. It will be interesting to see if everyone walks away feeling good about the contract.

July 7, 2010

So far today, we have submitted our proposal to our administrative team. I think our proposal is reasonable. We are waiting for the counter proposal.

Dr. House's visit was good. It was good to hear the other activities that my cohort partners have undertaken in their internship. It was good to hear the different experiences. It was worthwhile.

July 6, 2010

It was amazing how difficult the ground rules of negotiating were to agree on. We are preparing for an ugly session with the administration. They seem a bit unwilling to assist us on our proposal. We will see how it goes. It really has been an interesting exercise so far. The waiting time is painful at times, however.

Guest speaker was very interesting. Being only a few years removed from the labor side of things, I still find myself sympathetic to their cause. I think he brought up some interesting topics.

Collective Bargain 7/6

The most interesting part from today was listening to the guest speaker. Tom McLaughlin was extremely informative. I enjoyed listening to his thought process when it comes to the "teacher" side of the bargaining process. The major points I took from Tom were:
- know your bargaining agreement
- avoiding problems
- TRS changes
- mediation for teachers

The afternoon session was the start of the bargaining process. In the little time we had in the afternoon - Hostile! I can see why experience matters in negotiating contracts. Our groups struggled with the ground rules. Going through the process, I am learning how important roles are.

collective bargaining 7/6

It is interesting that our presenter today was once an administrator. I don't know his entire history (I remember one year as an elementary principal) but maybe administration was not his niche. He was a good presenter but when he answered our questions, he was very union-"ish". The ground rules assignment was frustrating. We did have too many people talking and adding to the discussion. I thought our ground rules assignment was going to end up in an impasse. Can't wait for actual bargaining.

July 6th Mtg.

Yesterday in class, we had a guest speaker from IFT. It was interesting to hear from the teachers' side of the collective bargaining process since most of our classes have dealt from the board side of view. Another part of the day that was interesting was when we began the bargaining process. I have sat in on negotiations before, and we did not establish any ground rules for the negotiations. After talking with the teacher group yesterday I see the benefit of establishing clear ground rules the committees will follow. I think the most important part of the ground rules is to establish when the meetings will be so each group can plan accordingly and be prepared for each meeting which will hopefully lead to a speedy and successful process. I also realized that the relationship process is key to negotiations as well. The more each side trusts each other, the smoother the process will play out. Both sides have to work together once the contract is signed, so the relationship piece is vital.

Collective Bargaining July 6

We had Tom McLaughlin come speak from the IFT who talked to us about avoiding problems as a superintendent in dealing with collective bargaining. I found it very informational particularly the topics of discussion dealing with current trends in bargaining. It was also interesting to listen to Tom regarding the new TRS laws, evaluation and Race to the Top. He was very knowledgeable and enjoyed asking him questions.

We were assigned our groups for collective bargaining. We established ground rules and were critiqued by Dr. Closen on things to improve on and things we did well. It was a good experience. I thought the process went well and was very good experience.

We finished up Dr. Closen's PPT on Collective Bargaing and he emailed it to us which will be of great benefit.

Class July 6 2010

Class on July 6th was hard to get back into, however, we did and the day ended up being quite eventful. We had an IFT guest speaker, who I thought gave a good representation on the union's side of collective bargaining. The most enjoyable part of the day, was when we were put in groups to simulate a collective bargaining situation. Again, the information was not all readily available, and we were all looking to each other for guideance, but I think that in many ways, that reflects how real negotiations can begin.

Collective Bargaining July6th

The guest speaker from the IFT (Tom) was interesting to listen to but not all that informative. His partner (Chris) works in my building as my head teacher and thus I have heard the union jargon many times. I found it intersting that he did his best to avoid answering senitive questions concerning union positions on the unfunded liabilities in the pension funds. The answer was really more of a finger pointing at the state government officials stating what their retirement requirements consisted of. It is worthy of note that he did state that the unions were somewhat responsible for the problem by the demands that have been requested that were not financially sound. We then worked on the mock negotiations and my team was the board side. I found it challenging to tackle in that the volume of work was so overwhelming. I get frustrated in that this is a mock situation and some of the information was incorrect or not available. I prefer to have all the information prior to but that is not possible in this case. We prioritized what we thought were most pertinent to us as a board. That was intersting to see what the others in the group felt were important.