Cornell Labor Programs

This advanced two-day negotiations and bargaining strategies workshop focuses on preparing the team for collective bargaining and costing out the contract. It is designed to help bargaining committee members negotiate a contract and be able to calculate the economic impact of their proposals.

It is assumed that participants will have some basic understanding of negotiations and collective bargaining principles although actual experience not required. Participants will learn negotiation tactics and strategies and conduct mock bargaining sessions and role plays.

Key Topics

• Advanced negotiations role play including costing out the agreement
• Panel discussion with local labor leaders to discuss negotiation strategies successes and challenges
• Provide an opportunity for team negotiations and understand the economic implications of contract negotiations

Instructors

Art Wheaton is an industry education specialist based at the Cornell-ILR office in Buffalo. A former AFSCME union steward and local union executive board member, Art has 11 years experience as a labor educator teaching collective bargaining, negotiations and conflict resolution for unions.

Richard Lipsitz, Jr. has been a union activist since the mid 1970's. He has served as president of a large hospital workers local in Buffalo, NY, business agent for SEIU Local 652 and is currently the Business Agent at Teamsters Local 264. Dick was also a labor educator at Cornell University ILR.