In many unions, ratification of a collective bargaining agreement can leave members alienated and angry.

Sometimes members will be learning about the major features of a tentative deal for the first time. Little time is given to discussion—members are expected to approve what leadership recommends, and officers may get defensive at questions or complaints. In some unions, members know their opinion doesn’t matter and may not even bother to vote.

But there’s another way to go, to build a powerful, participatory, energized union through the bargaining process: open bargaining.

You may have heard this term used simply to mean that members can watch negotiation sessions. But to me it’s much more—maximum participation in the whole process, not just at the table.

These are practices you could push to implement in your union, whether you’re in the leadership or in a caucus that’s pushing to operate more openly and democratically.

You don’t have to wait until negotiations begin. Open bargaining can start no matter where your union is at in the bargaining cycle. At every phase, there’s a way to educate members and empower them to lead. Here’s how:

OPEN UP CONTRACT EDUCATION

Does your union run education sessions for members about specific terms and conditions in your current contract? These can be short and specific: 10-minute shop floor meetings to learn about, for example, the provisions for paid time off.

These can be offered regularly, every week or month, in person or online, and focus on the contract language that’s most relevant to the problems members are having.

It’s a chance to teach, but also to ask: What could be clarified or strengthened? What’s missing? Invite people to brainstorm new language. Keep notes.

Ask if they want to help draft new proposals for the next contract. Keep track of who is interested. Circle back, when the time comes, to form contract support committees, and invite them to contribute.

SURVEY AND CONSULT

Surveying the members to find out what they care about in a contract is essential. But I’d encourage you to think beyond a one-time survey of individual members. Contracts aren’t individual; they’re collective.

Instead, priorities should be worked out by the members who will live under the contract through dialogue, debate, compromise, and creative reworking. It’s the union’s job to bring members together for these discussions.

Schedule regular consultation chats with groups of members. Ask them to grapple with conflicting priorities; facilitate good dialogue.

As people listen to each other, shared priorities can come to the fore and minimize the feeling that members are competing with one another for a piece of the pie. This kind of “surveying” builds commitment to shared goals… and the majority needed to hold firm in bargaining.

TOPIC COMMITTEES

In many unions, the members are entirely left out of drafting and revising proposals. Think how that squanders members’ potential wisdom, passion, and experience—not to mention volunteer labor!

Instead, the union should offer support—meeting space, background material, facilitation—for numerous committees to form and meet regularly.

It’s never too soon to form Contract Topic Committees. Each one is a committee of rank and filers who track a certain issue—for instance, wage structure, health insurance, schedules, evaluation and discipline, paid leave time, or health and safety—and think about what members need in that area.

Ideally, these committees draft proposals, send them around for feedback and revisions, and then birddog them during bargaining.

It gives the bargaining team a big boost to be backed up by the specific expertise of motivated members. It also keeps member priorities front and center.

BIG BARGAINING TEAM

If a bargaining team is only executive officers, staff, and lawyers, the daily experience of the members is left out.

Bargaining is often treated as an arcane skill, dependent on a few highly trained specialists. It’s not true! Good bargaining depends mainly on members who are committed to the collective welfare (not just their own needs), who want to listen, who are patient and steadfast, and who can work cooperatively despite many frustrations and challenges.

Open bargaining is best supported by a big bargaining team. The team should include members from every job title, shift, worksite, or department possible. It should include young, middle-aged, and senior workers, and workers of every identity group that’s present in your workplace—think race, gender, faith, language, and so on.

In many unions, ratification of a collective bargaining agreement can leave members alienated and angry.

Sometimes members will be learning about the major features of a tentative deal for the first time. Little time is given to discussion—members are expected to approve what leadership recommends, and officers may get defensive at questions or complaints. In some unions, members know their opinion doesn’t matter and may not even bother to vote.

But there’s another way to go, to build a powerful, participatory, energized union through the bargaining process: open bargaining.

You may have heard this term used simply to mean that members can watch negotiation sessions. But to me it’s much more—maximum participation in the whole process, not just at the table.

These are practices you could push to implement in your union, whether you’re in the leadership or in a caucus that’s pushing to operate more openly and democratically.

You don’t have to wait until negotiations begin. Open bargaining can start no matter where your union is at in the bargaining cycle. At every phase, there’s a way to educate members and empower them to lead. Here’s how:

OPEN UP CONTRACT EDUCATION

Does your union run education sessions for members about specific terms and conditions in your current contract? These can be short and specific: 10-minute shop floor meetings to learn about, for example, the provisions for paid time off.

These can be offered regularly, every week or month, in person or online, and focus on the contract language that’s most relevant to the problems members are having.

It’s a chance to teach, but also to ask: What could be clarified or strengthened? What’s missing? Invite people to brainstorm new language. Keep notes.

Ask if they want to help draft new proposals for the next contract. Keep track of who is interested. Circle back, when the time comes, to form contract support committees, and invite them to contribute.

SURVEY AND CONSULT

Surveying the members to find out what they care about in a contract is essential. But I’d encourage you to think beyond a one-time survey of individual members. Contracts aren’t individual; they’re collective.

Instead, priorities should be worked out by the members who will live under the contract through dialogue, debate, compromise, and creative reworking. It’s the union’s job to bring members together for these discussions.

Schedule regular consultation chats with groups of members. Ask them to grapple with conflicting priorities; facilitate good dialogue.

As people listen to each other, shared priorities can come to the fore and minimize the feeling that members are competing with one another for a piece of the pie. This kind of “surveying” builds commitment to shared goals… and the majority needed to hold firm in bargaining.

TOPIC COMMITTEES

In many unions, the members are entirely left out of drafting and revising proposals. Think how that squanders members’ potential wisdom, passion, and experience—not to mention volunteer labor!

Instead, the union should offer support—meeting space, background material, facilitation—for numerous committees to form and meet regularly.

It’s never too soon to form Contract Topic Committees. Each one is a committee of rank and filers who track a certain issue—for instance, wage structure, health insurance, schedules, evaluation and discipline, paid leave time, or health and safety—and think about what members need in that area.

Ideally, these committees draft proposals, send them around for feedback and revisions, and then birddog them during bargaining.

It gives the bargaining team a big boost to be backed up by the specific expertise of motivated members. It also keeps member priorities front and center.

BIG BARGAINING TEAM

If a bargaining team is only executive officers, staff, and lawyers, the daily experience of the members is left out.

Bargaining is often treated as an arcane skill, dependent on a few highly trained specialists. It’s not true! Good bargaining depends mainly on members who are committed to the collective welfare (not just their own needs), who want to listen, who are patient and steadfast, and who can work cooperatively despite many frustrations and challenges.

Open bargaining is best supported by a big bargaining team. The team should include members from every job title, shift, worksite, or department possible. It should include young, middle-aged, and senior workers, and workers of every identity group that’s present in your workplace—think race, gender, faith, language, and so on.

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