What tactics were used against labor unions?
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By — on August 25th, 2022 / Win-Win Negotiations What labor negotiation strategies can help negotiators achieve avoid strikes and reach a win-win negotiation? Professionals
seeking to avoid not only labor strikes but impasse in general can apply lessons from real-world labor disputes, including the 2012 Chicago teachers’ strike, to their own workplace negotiations. When a difficult negotiation such as a labor contract renegotiation looms, it can be tempting for each side to try to make unilateral decisions on certain issues in the belief that negotiations will be a dead end. This strategy may pay off in
the short term, but it’s important to factor in the long-term costs of failing to negotiate key issues. Take the 2012 contract negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the City of Chicago, which led to a 10-day strike. After being elected mayor of Chicago in February 2011, Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s former chief of staff, lobbied the Illinois state legislature hard for an education-reform bill targeted at Chicago’s troubled school district that included changes to collective bargaining between the city and the CTU. Specifically, the bill, which passed in May 2011, raised the percentage of CTU members who must vote in favor of a strike from 50% to 75%. The new law, known as SB7, also effectively prevented the CTU from striking over issues other than teacher salaries and limited the issues that could be negotiated—leaving out class size, for instance. Outraged, the union viewed the law as a signal that the new mayor was aggressively anti-union. Chicago’s Emanuel-appointed school board then further alienated Chicago teachers by rescinding a promised 4% pay raise and, at the same time, upping the salaries of newly installed CPS executives. Emanuel then began a campaign, ultimately successful, over a single education issue—his quest for a longer school day. But instead of negotiating with the CTU, he launched negotiations with individual schools. Entering the Strike ZoneThe union was further frustrated when the Chicago School Board delayed negotiations over the teachers’ new contract, leaving only weeks for the parties to come to agreement on a host of issues, including teacher salaries, evaluations, availability of books and other supplies, and air conditioning in schools. On June 6, 2012, an overwhelming 90% of CTU members voted to strike, far exceeding the 75% required by the new state law. Both sides turned down the recommendation of an independent arbitrator on the issue of teacher salaries. As thousands of Chicago Public Schools teachers joined picket lines across the city on September 10, Chicago parents scrambled to make arrangements for their children’s care. Ten days later, the CTU and the school board finally reached a breakthrough on a deal that provided victories for both sides, including a longer school day and annual teacher raises. 5 Top Labor Negotiation StrategiesA case could be made that dramatic reforms were needed to improve Chicago schools. But if one of Emanuel’s goals was to avoid a teacher strike, as suggested by his support of SB7, then his strategy of dodging and delaying negotiations with the CTU and limiting the number of issues on the table was counter to a win-win negotiation strategy. The combative and destructive nature of this strike suggests the following 5 labor negotiation strategies and win-win negotiation skills for others engaged in potentially contentious labor negotiations:
What other labor negotiation strategies and win-win negotiation techniques have you found to be helpful? Related PostsWhat tactics were used to defeat unions?The Lockout. Closing the factory to break a labor movement before it could get organized.. Blacklists. Names of pro-union workers circulated among employers.. Yellow-dog contractors. Workers being told, as a condition for employment, that they must sign an agreement not to join a union.. Putting down strikes.. What was the main tactic used by labor unions?Strikes, Boycotts, and Sabotage
The most frequently employed technique of workers was the strike. Withholding labor from management would, in theory, force the company to suffer great enough financial losses that they would agree to worker terms.
What were arguments against unions?Common Anti-Union Arguments. We don't need a union. ... . A union will make us hostile with management. ... . Having a union will hurt our company's performance. ... . Management or investors will shut down our workplace if we unionize. ... . A union will prevent us from negotiating individually. ... . Running a union will mean a lot of extra work.. What was used against the unions?However, many attacks against unions have used force of one sort or another, including police action, military force, or recruiting goon squads.
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