My last post brought us to the point of union certification, followed by collective bargaining, which must begin within 10 days and can lost no longer than 90 days. Then, a Federal Mediator takes the ball and will carry the process to an agreement.
Think about this for a moment. Why would any union in their right mind agree to anything during the 90-day negotiation period? By definition the Federal Mediation process is designed to bring the parties closer together. In other words the mediator is supposed to cause each side to make enough concessions that an agreement can be forged. If the union knows, in advance, that they will always get more in mediation then they can achieve through negotiations they have absolutely nothing to lose by refusing to agree to anything substantial during negotiations.
All this assumes, of course, that a mediator will even be available. Today there are less than 250 federal mediators. They get 13 to 26 days of paid vacation per year, 13 days of paid sick leave per year and 10 paid holidays per year. That is between 36 and 49 paid days off. So even if you can find a mediator that is not on vacation, can you imagine what kind of benefit plan they will believe is fair and reasonable for your employees?
Sleep well tonight…someone else may soon be managing your labor costs…! (see Part III for the outcome of the process)
