Public Sector Town Hall: Collective Bargaining - We’re All In This Together! What Wisconsin Local Government Needs to Know to Not Harm One Another

How do you navigate neighboring local government entities approving lucrative collective bargaining settlements that unexpectedly upset the historical wage rankings? What is the impact of a neighboring local government entity’s settlement that implements frontloaded across-the-board wage increases, as opposed to a neighboring local government entity’s settlement that focuses wage increases toward the top step and incrementally over the life of the contract? Is your local government entity getting whipsawed? Is your local government entity actually ready to engage in negotiations or is your entity winging it? Are you (and the union) using data to drive decisions? Are your entity’s elected officials considering the true ripple effect of the deals they agree to with the union, including the practical impact on non-union employees and the long-term financial impact? What if your bargaining team just wants to “get to the point” and “avoid the games?” How do you get the other side to sit and bargain at the bargaining table rather than negotiating electronically? What other factors are destabilizing and undermining the effectiveness of your bargaining strategies? What about the pending-Act 10 litigation, the upcoming Gubernatorial election, and a possible legislature shift?

All of these questions and more will be addressed by our Attorneys as they focus on preparations for bargaining in a world of decisions impacting communities across Wisconsin. In doing so, the team will address how to engage in methodical management-focused approaches to bargaining and comparability analysis of internal and external wages and benefits, all of which are essential to achieving a reasonable voluntary settlement that respects all of the employees in your organization and ongoing effective service levels. Elected officials and administration should attend this Town Hall to better understand collective bargaining and how to best protect your organization and avoid unintended harm toward others.

Please contact Karen Brunow to register.