Communicating While
Bargaining
Winter 2015
Why you NEED to Communicate
• Without information about Association activities
members remain apathetic and/or unorganized
• No communication=It never happened/Local Not
doing anything to help
• Visibility Creates Value
Internal Communications
• Create a survey to ask about what members hope to receive in a
new contract. Asking for input makes members feel like they’re
opinion is valued and the association is working for them
• Provide regular updates to all members
• Be as specific as you can without giving away the farm
• Tell members when you’re meeting again and when to expect
more.
Communications Team
• Create a team within the local that receives direct information
from designated member on the bargaining team
• Communications Team is then responsible for sharing bargaining
information with all members
Composition of Communications Team
Size: One person in each building should be a Comm Team Member
Who: Building rep or someone else who is
willing to share information
Responsibilities: Stay in constant contact with the designated
point person on the negotiations team who will
be sharing information and then share that
information with members in your building
Tree Of Information
• Ne
NEGOTIATION TEAM MEMBER
COMM TEAM MEMBER
• AL
ALL MEMBERS IN BUILDING
How do we share?
Pixel---ALWAYS use personal email addresses
Paper---Choose a colored piece of paper that is linked to Association and
share upcoming meeting dates but not specifics on negotiations. All association
news should be on the same colored piece of paper so it is recognizable as
important association news. Post notices of meetings and updates on Association
Bulletin Board. Don’t have a board—make one—remember visibility creates
value.
Person---Hold meetings to update members on negotiations (BEST WAY)
External Communication
What to do with negotiations aren’t going well?
• Rally for community support
• Share the message of what you do and why it’s
important
• Put pressure on School Board
Assignment Time:
• Craft an external message, (one for the public
and a likely press release), that your table thinks
will help persuade the general public (parents) to
support the Association and put pressure on
school board/administration to settle a contract
which has just been sent to fact finding. Assume
the only outstanding issues are wages and
benefits.
Messages that work
• As a ….. we are deeply committed to the success of every student. Students are at
the center of what we do and to help each student succeed we must ensure that every
educator has the development, resources, and support every professional needs.
This means recruiting, training and supporting people who love kids. It means pay that
attracts and helps retain the best people for the job. And it means ensuring every
person at the front of the room is qualified, caring and committed.
Educators strive to connect with each child, discover his passions, and unlock her
potential. Our students are at the center of everything we do and we need to be able
to retain and attract the best teachers possible. We need to make sure every child’s
teacher can do an outstanding job. This means ensuring kids come to school with what
they need to succeed and educators have the resources, respect and recognition to
support their achievement.
Messages that work
• The fact-finding process is costly to the taxpayers; we need to
invest in our students and not attorneys. If we are serious about
every child’s future, let’s get serious about doing what works.
This means resourcing all schools to have quality teachers who will
inspire a student’s love of learning. We need schools with
educators who will nurture the imagination of our children today
so they can grow into tomorrow’s inventors, thinkers artists and
leaders.
Ways to spread external message
• Press Release (a lot of small local papers will just reprint what you
send them)
• Letters to the Editor
• Petition to the school board
• Buttons, signs in cars
• Depending on issue, take a survey and share results with local
media
If you remember nothing else---
•VISIBILTY CREATES VALUE—
MAKE SURE YOU
COMMUNICATE
Questions?
Giovanna Bechard
Communications Director
[email protected]
622-4418 x2205