specific strategies to handle collective bargaining agreement?

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Many specifics...

1. Do research. Know exactly what you want and do research so that you can present evidence to back yourself up in your points.

2. I also recommend having legal assistance and legal representation. I have never negotiated personally, but I have dealt with management who has been hostile, rude, disrespectful, and if none of those, unbending. Hiring someone to represent you helps because you don't get exhausted arguing all day, you don't lose heart being yelled at, the person doing the talking for you has the benefit of not needing to be emotional. Your livelihood is at stake, your representative's livelihood is not. Even if he looses, you fire him and he finds a new client. His job of representing you is not a permanent position and he knows that. Thus if he does a good job, you still might fire him because he fulfilled his task and that task is now complete.

3. After you know what you want and you have the evidence to prove it, meet w/ management and discuss w/ them. Some say that negotiating requires give and take. I think that is bull, because starting off way long away and ending up hopfully where you always wanted kinda sounds like a pipe-dream. They'd do the same thing and they just seem greedy. So my personal opinion is to just state what you want and hold the line. Which gets me to #4....

4. Have lots of money saved up in case you walk. Make it clear that you will walk and do NOT make a threat you will not carry out. Draw your line and when it is crossed, make the move promptly and stick to it.

5. Also know your legal rights. You can complain to the National Labor Relations Board and they send justified complaints to the court system to render a judgement. If your complaints are safety-related in nature, you might be able to complain also to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and/or DOL (Department of Labor). Also know your employer's rights. It helps to know what he can and cannot do, this will help know what you should and should not do.

Good luck!

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