Congressional Research Employees Association

 
CREA’s Board of Governors has approved funding for a two-day training class on Collective Bargaining. The class is open to all CREA members who are interested in learning bargaining and negotiation skills.

These skills play an important role in many union-management situations. The most obvious is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (our contract). Bargaining can come into play with the impacts of changes in working conditions (such as division reorganizations or the implementation of the new authoring and publishing system or the new performance standards system). The union can also bargain over proposed changes in LC regulations. Developing our skills in bargaining, along with a cadre of people upon whom the union can call when the need arises, can help us be more effective.

The two-day course is taught by Joe Swerdzewski, previously the General Council for the Federal Labor Relations Authority. A description of the class is below.

The training must occur on personal time. Therefore, the Board is arranging to have the class on a Friday and Saturday (Jan. 9 – 10), to limit the amount of leave participants would have to take. If you interested and can commit to this class, please contact the CREA office at CREA@crs.loc.gov or ext. 7-7636.

Workshop # 2 CBR. How Unions Can Succeed in Federal Sector Collective Bargaining

The purpose of this workshop is to provide union representatives hands on skills on how to bargain in the federal sector. It will explain management rights and the exceptions to management rights provided under the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute. It will explain how bargaining over procedures and appropriate arrangements can act to expand the scope of bargaining beyond the traditional “I and I” bargaining practiced by many unions and management. The participants will engage in bargaining exercises aimed at increasing their understanding and skills in bargaining over changes in working conditions. The issues covered include as examples what information is necessary to be successful in bargaining and how to get it, how to prepare for bargaining, how to make appropriate arrangements proposals and when to file a negotiability appeal or when to go to arbitration over a negotiability dispute.

Workshop length – 2 days
Maximum number of participants – 30

Intended participants – union representatives subject to the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute
Presentation method – lecture and practical exercises