At Wednesday’s Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board meeting, members of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association bargaining team spoke before the board with comments about the upcoming negotiations between HSEA, representing district teachers, and HSE administrators.  One point the two members of the HSEA negotiating team made was a change from interest-based bargaining to a more traditional, also called positional, bargaining model.  What is the difference between these two methods of conducting bargaining?

During my 28 years as a federal civil servant, I spent time as both a union official, and a part of management, at different times during my career.  I have seen both types of bargaining up close and personal.  There is a difference.

One of my college professors likened traditional (positional) negotiations to a football field.  Both parties start the talks in their respective end zones, both knowing the final agreement will end up at mid-field, between the 40 yard lines.  It takes longer and can sometimes (but not always) be confrontational.  It takes a long time to keep exchanging proposals with small or no concessions from each side.  Putting it another way, it is a long slog.

Interest-based bargaining is a much different approach.  Here, each side knows what they want in a final agreement and lay it out during the first bargaining session.  The parties immediately look for ways to end up in a place where both sides can achieve most of what they want, without the lengthy process of keeping that goal hidden in traditional negotiations.

For interest-based bargaining to succeed, both parties must be honest and trust each other.

HSEA is saying the interest-based negotiations of past years have produced contracts praised by both parties and the community as a whole.  And it normally only takes a few days.

Also, HSEA is concerned that the current school board and administration are hiring attorneys to conduct the bargaining on behalf of the district.  The teachers’ union argues that local administrators headed-up the management side of the table in past years, and voiced concern about the change.

Indiana law says teachers-school district bargaining can begin now and the deadline for a deal is November 15.

Will traditional bargaining, not interest-based, produce a fair agreement for teachers and the HSE District?  Will having attorneys represent the district help get a final agreement or become an obstacle to a deal?

Only time will tell whether these changes in HSE Schools’ approach to bargaining a new contract with HSEA will be a good thing, or not.