ILRLR 6082 - CB Negotiations Simulation

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Recommended prerequisite or corequisite: collective bargaining theory and labor law course or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to: 18 students with junior, senior or graduate standing. Attendance at first class is vital; no student accepted if not enrolled before second class. Up to two required long bargaining sessions. Course workload heavier early in semester. Pre-register via graduate track.

H. Kramer, S. Mittler.

Students prepare for and participate in a simulated negotiation between a hypothetical corporation and a hypothetical union in a typical big company within a midsize single site bargaining unit context. Students are assigned, usually in line with preferences, to a management or union bargaining team. The course stresses the negotiation process over settlement or substantive outcomes. Negotiation problems are as real life as possible, constrained by student time needs and with attention given to dynamic legal,political, economic, and communications concerns as well as power, information, and time factors. Participants plan for negotiations, reach agreements in principle, negotiate language, and bargain over wages, pensions, health care, and noneconomic items in the context of a company and union with an established contract, policies, and culture. This is a small, hands-on, interactive, program with active participation essential.