On May 1, thousands of members of unions and immigrant rights groups gathered in solidarity and community at the Minnesota state capitol for the annual International Workers Day, or May Day, rally and march. Photo by Amie Stager.
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guarantees U.S. workers the right to “bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.” Some unions have made this process more open and transparent to union members by completely opening the bargaining process so that all workers who want to can—and are encouraged to—attend. Open bargaining is when members are allowed to be present at negotiation sessions between their unions and employers. It means workers can be informed in real time on how bargaining is going, learn about the process itself, and weigh in and participate. It opens up dialogue with membership before a tentative agreement is reached and voted on, and gives members more opportunities to exercise their rights as workers and contribute to the mission of their union. There is no law limiting who can come to bargaining, although unions sometimes agree to ground rules with employers that could limit who is allowed in the room. Open bargaining can build an internal culture of union democracy, and frequently leads to stronger contracts.
As Ellen David Friedman explains in Labor Notes, attendance at bargaining sessions is just the beginning. Ideally, open bargaining means “maximum participation in the whole process, not just at the table,” through surveys, worker committees that draft proposals, and relationship-building that starts long before formal negotiations begin, David Friedman argues. Not only does it build power for workers, but it can be fun.
“Some of the power of open bargaining is you can start to, as a membership, demand more,” says Erica Schatzlein. She works at Nokomis Montessori in St. Paul where she teaches students who are learning how to speak English. She has taught for over 20 years, and she has been the lead negotiator for Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) Local 28 for the past three contracts. “It’s been really fun,” she says. “We’ve hired an ice cream truck, and our community organizer has done screen printing.”
Minnesota Federation of Educators (MFE) Local 59 (previously known as Minneapolis Federation of Teachers or MFT) and SPFE Local 28 have been holding open bargaining sessions for union members whose contracts both expired on June 30. Although collective bargaining under Minnesota’s Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA) must be conducted as public meetings, these unions have made an organized effort to encourage and invite all union members as well as community members to their meetings, either in-person or virtually. Additionally, this year is the earliest these unions have entered bargaining and the first year they are bargaining in the summer time. Members from other unions have been attending to show their solidarity with educators, as well as members of a local group of parents that have been able to be involved in the bargaining.
“At one meeting, a bunch of parents gave testimonials,” says Nikki O’Neil, a rank-and-file member of MFE Local 59 who has been attending the sessions. O’Neil is an early childhood family education associate educator at Wilder in South Minneapolis. She says that parent support during the Minneapolis educators strike of 2022 was critical.
According to O’Neil, a frequent issue that comes up for ESPs is the low vacation accrual rate, which leads to unpaid winter and spring breaks, so the union has proposed an increase in the rate. “It definitely contributes to turnover,” she says. “It’s not sustainable to have these big chunks of time where you’re not getting paid.”
During several of the MFE meetings I attended, dozens of workers packed the room, filling out the rows of chairs on either side of the negotiation table. These audience members, which included MFE members, members from unions such as LiUNA and Starbucks Workers United, as well as parents and other community members, could come and go as they needed. A large screen displayed a slideshow with information about each proposal as the bargaining team presented them. Someone from the union bargaining committee suggested that everyone from the district introduce themselves. Workers say it is beneficial to hear the employer’s proposals and perspectives. “It’s super advantageous for people to actually be in the room and experience what the district believes in,” says O’Neil. “The boss does such a good job of organizing for us, when you sit in that room and you hear the ridiculous thinking behind their proposals.”
During bargaining, each side can call for a caucus, or a private meeting that allows people to discuss and craft responses and offer feedback. At one meeting, workers gave immediate reactions and analysis to the bargaining committee about things that the district had said. “Sometimes with the jargon that is talked about, things can be missed, and then you get the opportunity to revisit, ask some more questions, get some clarification,” says O’Neil.
Union leadership says that beginning contract bargaining as early as they did this year has changed the dynamics between MFE Local 59 and the Minneapolis Public Schools district. “It’s more of a partnership,” MFE president Marcia Howard said at a meeting in May. All three units–K-22 education, ESPs, and adult education–bargaining at the same time is also part of the strategy. Howard said that a united front means that the district can’t try to pit them against each other.
Schatzlein says that SPFE Local 28 and the Saint Paul Public Schools district reached some tentative agreements on the first night of bargaining, which has never happened before. However, other proposals remain to be agreed upon. She says the power of open bargaining relies on transparency and accessibility.
“Step one is open the doors, maybe you just have it open for a round,” says Schatzlein. “Step two is an evolution. From the bargaining team to the contract action team. Constant structure tests to see are the buildings feeling it? Do they understand? Are they with us? Do we need to change tactics? Engagement breeds engagement. That’s the power of open bargaining.”
The next meeting for SPFE Local 28 is scheduled for July 30, and MFE Local 59 is scheduled to meet August 8. AFSCME Local 3800, which represents clerical and technical workers at the University of Minnesota, have also been holding open bargaining sessions.
“When workers have low trust in their own organization and are invited to take part in the very process at the heart of every union—contract negotiations—they often shift to having immense trust,” wrote the late union activist and organizer Jane McAlevey in a report adapted from her and Abby Lawlor’s book on high-participation negotiation as a powerful organizing tool. “Despite the ongoing degradation of workplace and civic democracy, most unions can still choose to transform the negotiations process from a closed one with little input into a key lever for rebuilding robust worker participation.”
O’Neil says that the open bargaining model helps her understand the commitment her fellow union members are making, and that she hopes to be part of that team one day. “Our team this year, their presentations and their proposals have been so badass and organized and impressive,” she says. “It’s such a huge commitment, and I haven’t had the space to do that yet. I do intend to eventually, because it’s so powerful.”