Preparing for Bargaining:
Concrete approaches to laying the groundwork
Pre-Conference Workshop

Presented by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto,
Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources

Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Full-Day Interactive Session
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
123 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2M9

This workshop will deal with the process leading up to bargaining, from the initial establishment of bargaining committees, through to the exchange of proposals between the parties. In this interactive session, Lancaster’s panel of experts will lead you through challenging scenarios and will equip you with the tools you need to establish the foundation necessary for bargaining. Topics to be discussed include:

• Assembling a negotiating team
• Reviewing rules on bargaining in good faith
• Establishing a reporting relationship and securing a mandate
• Linking bargaining strategy to organizational goals
• Creating realistic expectations
• Considering the creation of an advisory committee
• Building support for your position through marshalling information (economic trends, prior grievances, settlements, and awards)
• Obtaining financial information, and complying with disclosure obligations
•  Exchanging proposals with the opposite party
• Developing a negotiation strategy, identifying sources of leverage
• Preparing proposals
• Costing both sets of proposals
• Structuring a package, and identifying potential trade-offs
• Exploring potential settlement scenarios, and assessing the associated risks
• Keeping your principals, or your membership, informed