Article originally published in l’aut’journal. Could you imagine that public sector union negotiations could be broadcast live on the Internet? That members of union organizations can follow the talks at the bargaining table on their union’s Facebook page? That they can write comments in the chat area? That union negotiators can use comments to convince the employer of the merits of union demands?
By Luc Allaire, CSQ advisor
Utopian, isn’t it? Yet this is how negotiations take place in the education network in Colorado. The teachers’ unions affiliated with the (CEA), which is a member of the National Education Association (NEA), have been broadcasting live on their Facebook page since 2012 what is happening at the negotiating table. Union members meet in a room at their school to watch the negotiations live, others do so from the comfort of their homes, and all can make comments, which can be taken up by their union’s negotiators.
This model was presented by Michelle Moehlis, chair of the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) bargaining committee, and Sydney Slifka, director of digital communications at the Colorado Education Association, at the NEA Leadership Summit held in Chicago from 1is to March 3, 2024. This summit is held every year, it brings together nearly 2,000 members of the largest education union in the United States, the NEA, which represents 3 million members.
In Colorado, negotiations are decentralized to the district level, says Michelle Moehlis, chair of the JCEA negotiating committee.
This union has 3,000 members. He negotiates collective agreements in “live streaming” » since 2012. Every 3 to 5 years, this union negotiates a new collective agreement. The timing of the renewal is chosen based on school board elections and the needs of sister unions: we coordinate with other unions to determine the best time to call a strike, if necessary, and we analyze who has the majority at the council of commissioners in order to avoid the risks of suffering setbacks in our agreement.
In addition, each year, the employer and the union can request the negotiation of two elements that they call reopeners or negotiate mutual issues such as monetary aspects.
Colorado union sees many benefits to live-streamed bargaining
Many more members are involved in the union, they can give concrete examples of what they experience in support of demands. This makes it possible to provide union education to a large number of members. Above all, it is much more difficult for the employer to say no to union demands when he knows that many members are watching him. Since the negotiations were broadcast live, this Colorado union has made major gains, particularly in terms of pay equity and the addition of professional staff.
When she started as a primary school teacher, Sydney Slifka admits she knew very little about unionism. It was while watching a negotiation session with her colleagues on Facebook that she understood the importance of the union. “The employer explained the time spent with students which was recognized by the school board: it stops when the bell rings,” he explained. I then pointed out that this was false, that I myself had been working with my students for at least 20 minutes after the bell had rung. »
The negotiator then used this story told sincerely by a teacher to have this time of presence recognized by the students. “It convinced me to get involved with my union,” said Ms. Slifka.
In support of the bargaining team, Colorado unions affiliated with the NEA are forming “BOATs” for “Bargaining Organizing Action Team”. Their main mandates are the mobilization and organization of members. These BOATs are spaces for members who wish to support the work of the negotiation team.
“This way of doing things empowers grassroots members, who finally have a voice to express their passion and make their point of view,” says Michelle Moehlis.
How do they form these mobilization teams (BOAT)? “We look for the members who complain the most, and we put them to work. Action feels good, it allows you to channel your anger onto a concrete target. These are exceptional places to train union leaders,” she continues.
BOAT members then undergo training and meet with the negotiation team to understand their strategy. They then undertake to meet with grassroots members in their school to explain to them why they should be interested in negotiation. They then collect real-life stories from grassroots members, which they share with the negotiating team during live-streamed chat sessions.
Parents can also follow the negotiations live and express themselves in the media. This is how parents obtained free meals to be distributed in schools. “But when the employer said that the amounts thus granted would be subtracted from the salary increase, all the union members in the Facebook discussion group spoke out to say that they agreed with the free meals, but that It wasn’t up to the staff to pay them! The employer had to back down. This is the strength of this method of direct negotiation,” says Sydney Slifka enthusiastically.
Negotiations can be can give
But often, negotiations can become long and boring. The Colorado union planned this. In these cases, he organizes games such as bingo, gambling competitions memes, actions in the viewing rooms where people are asked to stand up, clap their hands, turn around. This is how a slogan was found to push back a boss called Mr. Glass: “Let’s break the glass ceiling,” they chanted.