Question 1 concession bargaining
I recently witnessed a bargain between the teachers union and the district education board. Initially, the teachers’ union had secured a return to work formula with the employer after an agreement on 5% increase in commuter allowance. The collective bargaining agreement led to signing of the agreement, and the teachers were happy with the outcome. However, the economic conditions and biting teachers’ shortage in some public schools led to a “concession bargaining”. The education board called the teachers union for a concession bargaining so as to come up with a better way to address the twin challenges. Consequently, the union gave back the demand for the 5%increatse in commuter allowance. In return, they gained by having the new teachers employed, thus reducing the work world and time spent in school. Further, they agreed to re-look into the issue once the economic outlook improves, and inflation stabilizes.
The agreement was valuable. It was agreed on a mutual understanding, based on facts and ut mots good faith negotiation (Redfern, 2004). Further, the agreement led to employment of more teachers thus making the teachers work for fewer hours due to increased manpower. Further, there is a chance for even a better bargain in the future. The economy is expected to perform better. Therefore, there is a chance for even more than 5% increase in the commuter allowance.
Question 2: Teachers’ strikes and public policy
The history of the American teachers’ union movement is anchored on the concept of teacher's strike and confrontation. For the national and public policy, teachers’ strike is not good. In 1960s, teachers would argue that “what is good for teachers is good for students” (Huss & West, 2007). However, during the strike, the students miss lessons and their studies affected (Moe, 2009). Missing classes is bad for the public policy since the students must cover the curriculum as developed in the education on policy in a timely and systematic manner.
References
Hess, F. & West, M. (2008). A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining
for the 21st Century., Washington, DC: American Enterprise Inst. for Public Policy Research. Print.
Moe, T. (2009). Collective Bargaining and The Performance of the Public Schools. Stanford
Redfern, A. (2004). Law and practice of international commercial arbitration. New York:
Sweet & Maxwell. Print.
