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Follow on Google News | Nantucket’s Never-Ending Negotiations: Students Shape How Town and Unions Work TogetherPreparation. Practice. Persistence. Those qualities make for a good firefighter, and as Nantucket Firefighter Nate Barber learned from working with Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program students, they also make for a good negotiator.
By: Harvard Law School As a member of Nantucket’s Local 2509 (http://www.nantucketfirefighters.org/) After taking a Harvard Negotiation Institute course with Robert Bordone, Director of HNMCP and Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical Professor of Law, Mr. Barber quickly identified HNMCP as a potential source of assistance. The first step was to train union and management employees in basic negotiation skills. Harvard Negotiators (http://www3.law.harvard.edu/ During the 2010 Fall Semester, Clinic students Ken Gantz, James Goldschmidt ’10, and Emilie Aguirre ’12 (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ Too often, reports and recommendations are stashed in a drawer, never to be employed. But in Nantucket, the firefighter’ Instead of using the town manager as the primary negotiator for the town, the students recommended the selectmen appoint a negotiator with greater authority to settle. That way, if both sides discussed an option at the table, the management representatives could modify it or agree to it outright, without having to go back to the selectmen for approval. “That was one of the best negotiation suggestions the students had,” Mr. Barber relayed. “We’ve had one round of negotiations since the project, and we settled at the table.” While settling at the table is certainly beneficial, HNMCP students know that a sustainable bargaining system also ensures both sides’ interests are met. Without addressing the primary issues head on and discussing them in intelligent ways, the students knew their clients could easily revert to entrenched behaviors. Thus, they helped both sides focus on what mattered most, instead of getting bogged down in smaller, less important issues. Mr. Barber praised the students for taking a genuine interest in each side. This helped create a more constructive negotiation environment. “Before, no one had talked about negotiations in terms of how the process had gone. People just bickered about what they’d gotten or not gotten. This time, the town and the union worked hard on improving negotiations before we negotiated, and that was apparent. We got a fair contract that both sides are happy with.” The agreement included a provision to double the number of firefighters during busy summer months, a primary concern for the firefighters. In turn, the town representatives received some cost savings that made the increase in personnel easier for the town to approve (http://www.nantucket- The biggest challenge for the firefighter’ The firefighters and the town are planning to use the same process for future negotiations, as both sides felt it created a healthier, more trusting relationship between the parties. Having a successful model has encouraged the town and other unions to rethink their bargaining structures, too. Since the firefighters’ As for the firefighters, they are anticipating a well-staffed summer season. “We have a lot to build on,” Mr. Barber conceded. “It will get better with each round. We like where we are, and where we are headed. Everything’s looking up after HNMCP worked with us.” End
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