How this process works in 6 simple steps
- Team Building: Build a Bargaining Team! CPPW members elected a 9 member (+ 1 alternate) bargaining team from around the City to represent the whole membership at the table. See your bargaining team here. Then, hire a lawyer to support the bargaining team during negotiations – CPPW’s lawyer is Katelyn Oldham. Done and done!
- Scheduling and Agreements: Set ground rules with the City and schedule bargaining meetings – this happened on January 24th.
- Negotiations & Action: Each side exchange proposals and caucuses to negotiate at meetings – this will happen during meetings scheduled between March – July 2024. Union members are encouraged to participate in this process by attending bargaining sessions, offering testimony of your experiences, taking bargaining surveys to prioritize issues, and taking action to show the City how committed we are to winning a strong contract. The #1 way to get a strong contract is to have powerful action by the members during negotiations.
- Assess: The initial bargaining period is legally a minimum of 150 days, after that we see where we are at and what needs to happen. If needed, both sides can agree to continue bargaining or the process can go to mediation.
- TA: Tentative agreement is reached. The City send the tentative agreement to City Council for approval and CPPW sends it to our membership for a vote (you must be card signed member to vote!)
- Ratification Vote: When the the majority of membership (and City Council) vote to approve the tentative agreement – our first contract is ratified!