We have been invited to the MT Police Protective Association conference and training on Bargaining and Bargaining Strategies.

June 19th-23rd in Billings.

Please see THIS registration to see the detailed agenda and sign up.

9:00 Introduction and Recent Developments in Public Safety Labor Issues

Recent developments from around the country in the area of public safety labor relations, including:

• A review of wage and benefit settlements over the last six months in public safety agencies.

• Police reform legislation, and how it can impact all public safety employees.

• The new world of social media discipline.

• Phones, flash drives, GPS trackers, and other electronic equipment.

• How the privacy rights of employees depend upon the circumstances.

Will Aitchison.

11:00 What Is Negotiable, And Why

• What are the sorts of wages, hours, and working conditions that are mandatory for bargaining?

• The difference between bargaining over an employer’s decision and bargaining over the impacts of the decision.

• Hot negotiations issues: including equipment such as GPS systems and body cameras, workplace safety, staffing, communicable disease policies, health care, work schedules, etc.

Will Aitchison.

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Past Practice, Management Rights, And Maintaining The Status Quo

• How something becomes a “past practice,” and the significance of a past practice.

• How the obligation to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining can limit an employer’s ability to make changes in past practices.

• The process by which mid-term bargaining occurs and is resolved.

• Management rights and maintenance of benefits clauses: how do they work and how are they related?

Will Aitchison.

3:00 Bargaining in Today’s Economic Environment: Trends and Basic Principles

• A review of national economic projections, including projections for the Consumer Price Index and other national indices that impact an employer’s ability to pay.

• Current projections for increases in medical costs.

• The different strategies taken by public safety employers and unions in bargaining in difficult times.

Will Aitchison.

4:00 Adjournment

Montana Police Protective Association

Montana Chiefs of Police

2023 Detailed Training Agenda

June 20-22, 2023

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

9:00 The Nuts & Bolts of Bargaining, Bargaining Strategies, And Media Relations

A thorough discussion of the mechanics of collective bargaining.

• Preparing and maintaining a bargaining strategy.

• Keeping a contract notebook.

• Preparing for the meet-and-confer process.

• The composition of the bargaining team and the roles played by different bargaining team members.

• Selecting comparable jurisdictions and total compensation analysis, including cost of living, workload and productivity, local labor markets, cross-classification analysis, and other topics which are raised in an assessment of wages and benefits.

• How one goes about proving bargaining history.

• The significance of a tentative agreement.

• The different types of bargaining concessions that are occurring, including furloughs, retirement adjustments, wage freezes and reductions, and health insurance changes.

• Non-economic benefits in exchange for economic concessions. Is the traditional structure still in place?

• Dealing with constituencies – union members and elected officials – during difficult economic times.

• The increased focus on politics and media relations, and the implications of getting the public involved in the bargaining discussion.

Jonathan Downes and Rick Poulson.

12:00 Lunch

1:00 The Nuts & Bolts of Bargaining, continued from morning session.

4:00 Adjournment

Thursday, June 22, 2023

8:30 When You Can't Get a Deal; What You Need to Know About Interest Arbitration

• What is Interest Arbitration and/or Factfinding?

• How does the process work?

• How do arbitrators make their decisions?