Contract Skills
BUILDING SKILLS IN CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
Prepared by

Dr. Mollie H. Bowers
Arbitrator/NAA
Dispute Settlement Services

Associate Professor
University of Baltimore

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INTRODUCTION
These training materials have been developed for union representatives. They contain a step by step discussion of the various aspects of contract administration. The goal of reading these materials, answering the questions provided, role playing, and applying the guidance provided is to build skills in contract administration.

Many people think that contract administration only involves grievance handling and arbitration. This is understandable because most treatments of contract administration cover only these subjects. Actually, contract administration is the process that transforms a collective bargaining agreement into a working relationship between labor and management on a day to day basis and provides information vital to subsequent contract negotiations. Contract administration thus involves a variety of tasks, responsibilities and processes. These include: Dissemination of Information; Implementation and Compliance; Interpretation and Conflict Resolution; Grievance Administration; Monitoring the Contract and other elements that influence the labor-management relationship; and Steward
Training.

These materials have been designed both for individual use and for group training sessions. It is recommended that the materials be studied in the order that they are presented. This is partly to ensure that readers gain a complete knowledge of all aspects of contract administration. Also, the skills and activities in one aspect of contract administration overlap with and have an influence on other aspects of this process. Once the training materials have been studied in their entirety, specific sections can be used for refresher training on an "as needed" basis.

Audio-visual aids and other source material have been suggested to supplement this training. A series of questions appears at the end of each section. These can be used as a basis for discussion of the information in the section to test how well you have grasped this information and can apply it to every day situations you encounter. It is also recommended that you study the materials with one of your fellow union members. Advantages of this approach are that: (1) You can play the roles of labor and management in various situations described here and thus gain a better understanding of what is expected of you as a union representative; (2) You can develop skills essential to anticipate management responses at various junctures in the contract administration process; (3) You can probe loopholes in your contract administration skills in a risk free setting; (4) The motivation to, and enjoyment of, learning will be enhanced.
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WHAT IS CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION?
Collective bargaining and contract administration are the two main parts of a labor-management relationship. A contract provides the framework for this relationship, while administration is a continuous process that gives life to a contract and collects input for subsequent negotiations. The extent to which there is harmony or conflict between labor and management is greatly influenced by the quality of contract administration. It affects how well the parties are able to live with the terms and conditions of their current contract as well as the degree of success they will have in negotiating future contracts. The effectiveness of contract administration also impacts upon the success of a union as an organization and as a representative of employees in a bargaining unit, and upon that of an employer as a competitive supplier of goods and services.

Unlike collective bargaining, the roles and responsibilities of the parties are not evenly divided in administering a contract. An employer has a larger role in contract administration because it has primary responsibility for initiating policies, programs and directives to implement and administer a collective bargaining agreement. Nevertheless, a union must be as dedicated to, and skillful in, performing its duties in contract administration (e.g., safeguard the contractual rights of employees of the union, training stewards, monitoring, etc.) as it is in negotiating term and conditions of employment at the bargaining table.

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INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
DECISION-MAKING:
A collective bargaining agreement establishes the terms and conditions of employment. All employees in the bargaining unit (present and new hires) must receive a copy of the agreement as soon as possible after the contract is ratified and signed. This is not always done, however. Some of the reasons why are identified here.

The parties may have failed, either in ground rules negotiations or at the conclusion of contract talks, to agree upon whether labor, management or both shall be responsible for the arrangements to, and costs of, printing and distributing the contract and to establish a deadline set for same;

One or both parties may lose interest once the drama of negotiations has ended and a contract has been ratified. It is good advice to remember, however, that a contract is only as good as the paper on which it is written;

Another reason is some employers are reluctant to distribute contracts because they believe that "... employees sit around all day reading the contract to find reasons for filing a grievance"; and

There are some union representatives who prefer an "ignorance is bliss" approach especially if the agreement fails to meet membership expectations in certain areas. This preference is likely to be strongest in situations where membership disappointment may be translated into a political challenge to the union leadership.

Any of these or other reasons may seem important to someone at some time. The thing to remember is that NONE of these reasons contribute to the goal of establishing a workable labor-management relationship and to lasting labor peace.

To illustrate this point, some potential consequences of failing to properly disseminate information on new contract terms will be considered. For example, the chances increase for inconsistent enforcement of contract terms. If a given result is in either labor or management's favor, there may be a tendency to ignore it. There may be significant costs attached if past practices develop which change the meaning of contract language, or if grievances mount over disparate or discriminatory treatment. When this happens, the consenting party may have a difficult time developing an affirmative defense in arbitration if it has condoned, by default, the action complained of. Absent knowledge of new contract terms, moreover, bargaining unit employees may operate under old conditions and be placed in jeopardy of discipline through no fault of their own. These examples should suffice to show that the costs of failing to timely disseminate the agreement (regardless of any perceived short-run benefit) may be increased antagonism between labor and management, erosion of contract language, and diminished ability to support bargaining unit employees essential for a union to succeed.

How should the agreement be disseminated? Labor and management should agree upon a method in a pre-bargaining conference, at the table or through past practice. It may be that the employer or the union has always distributed the agreement, or the parties may have a tradition of alternating this responsibility. Prior agreement should also be reached upon the form in which the contract shall appear (e.g., printed booklet, what size, Xerox copy, etc.). Regardless of which party distributes the agreement to bargaining unit employees, each recipient should be required to sign for his/her copy. This practice is recommended for three reasons: (1) it provides ready documentation regarding who has a copy of the agreement and can be reasonably expected to know its content; (2) it should alert the distributor when employees are recalled to make sure they have a copy if a new contract has been negotiated in the interim; and (3) it can be used to ensure that all new hires receive copies of the agreement. Regardless of who distributes the agreement, remember that copies must be provided to all employees in the bargaining unit; not just to union members. Failure to do so could result in a claim that the union had not met its DUTY TO FAIR REPRESENTATION.

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TRAINING:
It is imperative to inform all bargaining unit employees of contract terms as well as of expectations regarding implementation and compliance. For union members, this should occur during the ratification process. It is not reasonable to assume that all employees in a bargaining unit are necessarily union members, nor that union members have attended the ratification meeting. The union should arrange for discussions of what the contract means at subsequent union meetings until the contract and what compliance entails are understood. In labor-management relationships where a number of successive contracts have been negotiated, it may not be necessary to cover provisions that have remained unchanged, but rather, bargaining unit employees and union representatives should be reminded that this is the case. However, if records of grievances and/or informal discussions show that there is uncertainty or a problem about a provision that has been rolled over, then new contract training is a good time to clarify this language and to reiterate expectations about compliance.

All union officials and stewards should be trained in new contract term as soon as possible after ratification and signing. These are the persons who are responsible for administering the contract so they must know what the negotiators at the bargaining table intended it to mean and how it should be applied. Even though the terms and conditions may have been explained to members at the ratification meeting, moreover, there are likely to be employees who have questions and union officials/stewards must be able to answer these clearly and consistently. Consequently, an essential part of a union's role in contract administration is to develop a plan, before negotiations conclude, for training officials /stewards and the rank and file. The method of training that is likely to be most effective and feasible varies in relation to a number of factors such as the: financial resources of the local or international union; size and geographic dispersion of the bargaining unit; number and complexity of changes made in the contract; demands on officials' time to negotiate other contracts and/or handle grievances, etc.

How should contract training be conducted? The late Harold Davey identified positive qualities associated with joint labor-management contract training. In sum, he recognized that joint sessions can be difficult to plan and execute, but suggested that this is the sounder approach to achieve uniformity and avoid embarrassing precedents in contract administration [Davey, Contemporary Collective Bargaining, 1972, p. 146.]. Regrettably, researchers have not pursued the exploration Davey started so there is no current information available on this approach.

Generally, labor and management seem to opt for separate contract training. An approach that has been effective for unions is to have one or more articulate persons from the negotiating team who support and understand the contract perform, this function. Do not allow supervisors either advertently or inadvertently to become involved in this function. An improper explanation by a supervisor could result in a contract violation and even in the development of a past practice (i.e., a practice that is not in agreement with contract language and may be binding on both parties if allowed to continue) that may or my not be beneficial to an employee/the union. Remember, training sessions can also provide a valuable opportunity for union representatives to keep in touch with both members and non-members and to demonstrate what the union can/is doing for them.

The following are other suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of contract training:

Prepare an agenda. Contract provisions may, but need not necessarily, be discussed in consecutive order. In fact, it may be advisable to discuss key provisions first while the participants are alert and save the less important items for last.
Participants should be given a clear and complete explanation of what new contract provisions mean and be advised of what the union expects in terms of implementation, compliance and enforcement.
Allow a reasonable amount of time for questions and provide answers. However, persons conducting the training should maintain control of the process and not allow it to devolve into a gripe session over what was or was not done at the bargaining table.
The outcomes of past arbitration/grievances should be discussed in terms of their application, if any, in the light of new contract language. It is especially important that stewards receive this information.
During training, it is also important to reiterate the principles of consistency and equity, and to illustrate actions that may be arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory, or demonstrate disparate treatment (i.e., singling out one employee or group of employees to be treated differently from another for any reason) Similarly, the principle that employees should comply now and grieve later should be stressed. This principle will be discussed in more detail in a later section of these materials.

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FOLLOW-UP:
Regardless of the quality and comprehensiveness of initial training, it is not a panacea for good contract administration. A union has an on-going responsibility to monitor the performance of its representatives and to take appropriate steps to enhance and refresh their administrative skills. Similarly, bargaining unit employees may need to be reminded of their obligation to comply with the contract and of what is expected of them in this regard. Some means that may be used for this purpose include: written memos to stewards from the local/international president to clarify complex provisions and to encourage consistent administration of contract terms; use of union meetings for follow-up training, or question and answer sessions, preferably conducted by a member of the bargaining team in conjunction with local leadership; monitoring grievances, the way they are handled and their outcomes; training program sponsored by the international union.

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IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLIANCE
Implementation and compliance are the functions which give life to a collective bargaining agreement. They transform a document called the contract/agreement into a working labor-management relationship. A contract is legally binding upon labor and management as soon as it is ratified and signed by both parties. This is an important fact because it means that the terms and conditions must be implemented and complied with as soon as these processes are completed. Additionally, contract provisions that are not enforced by the parties can lose their effectiveness in governing the working relationship and/or past practices may develop that erode or amplify the intent of the parties at the bargaining table. Ultimately, lack of prompt, fair, consistent and continuous enforcement of contract provisions may be very costly to one or both parties by becoming the subject of grievances and arbitration.

Most of the burden for implementation of a contract falls on an employer. It is important that this responsibility be taken seriously and be conducted even-handedly because it can mean the difference between a good and a poor relationship with a union. If a union has bargained hard to achieve a concession or some other type of change in a contract, immediate reflection of this change at the work site is an important indication of good faith in the relationship. Another repercussion of delay can be problems within a union if leaders believe they are losing face with their members and may even lose their offices. The result could be emergence of instability even in labor-management relationships that previously have been workable and stable.

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PREPARATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
No contract is self-executing but rather requires a considerable amount of prior administrative effort, planning, and coordination. The following is a list of some of the types of activities involved in contract implementation:

Legal counsel should be sought to conduct a final review of the contract before it is submitted for ratification. This review helps to insure that contract terms are in compliance with existing federal, state and local laws.
The contract must be reviewed for clarity and to insure that there are no errors or discrepancies with provisions initialed at the bargaining table. This review also provides an opportunity to carefully examine the agreement in writing, to study the wording and to discover potential areas of confusion or misunderstanding. Concern with these issues prior to implementation can facilitate administration and foster a more harmonious relationship during the life of an agreement. The spokesperson for the bargaining team, if not all team members, must participate in this review.

A clean copy of the contract must be prepared and submitted to the other party for similar review. A deadline should be set for transmittal of any proposed changes, in writing, to the other party. If differences arise, a meeting between labor and management should be scheduled as soon as possible to draft language that is mutually acceptable.
A copy of the minutes of negotiations should be reviewed, typed and saved along with the original draft so that questions on the intent of the negotiators can be answered for members. This information along with the record of success or failure in advancing proposals at the bargaining table can also be critical to the outcome of arbitration cases involving questions of contract interpretation.

The contract can then be submitted for ratification. Both parties participate in activities 1, 2 and 4. In many, but not all bargaining relationships, management will be responsible for preparing and transmitting a clean copy of the contract described in item 3. However, a union may perform this function, or the parties may agree to alternate. It is important to remember that the four functions listed above should be performed expeditiously, but not hastily. Both parties can then begin to enjoy the fruits of their labors at the bargaining table while guarding against destructive rumors that could jeopardize ratification.

An extra step for an employer is to make sure that the labor relations/personnel and payroll offices are informed of impending changes in the contract so that computers can be programmed to reflect new wages, hours and/or benefits. This is particularly important where changes have been made in such items as shift differentials, uniform allowances, health care premiums, etc. - items that have an immediate effect on payroll deductions or direct reimbursement.

An IMPORTANT aspect of union involvement in the preparations for implementation begins as soon as labor-management review of the contract has been completed. A membership meeting should be scheduled at the earliest possible opportunity for the purposes of ratification. Careful attention to detail is essential to maximize attendance. A convenient time and location must be secured and information widely disseminated, well in advance, regarding the purpose of the meeting.

The way the meeting is conducted may have a significant impact on the outcome of a ratification effort. There are several key ingredients that may determine whether membership approval will be given or withheld. The union leadership must support the contract and be in control of the meeting. An AGENDA should be prepared. As in a bargaining situation, the chances of agreement can usually be enhanced by beginning with the most and proceeding to the least acceptable/important item.

Assurance that recommendations will be adopted can also be increased by selecting speakers (including one or more members of the bargaining team) who are committed to the agreement AND have the capability to sell it to the members. These speakers should do their homework in advance of the ratification meeting. They should be able to answer questions, anticipate opposition and be prepared to deal with it in a positive, reasonable and orderly manner. Straight answers and a realistic appraisal of the alternatives are also keys to success. In today's environment, dissension may be diminished by asking the members if they really want to play into management's hands by sending negotiators (whose credibility will have been compromised) back to the table with a contract rejection or by striking? Employees should be made to understand that the likelihood of unconditional acceptance of an employer's terms (including subcontracting the work) tends to increase significantly with the use of these tactics.

It is also worthwhile for a union to consider what, if any, place the use of alcohol should be allowed to have in a ratification meeting. Sound advice may be to ban drinking from such meetings to discourage needless confrontation and to encourage sober judgment on terms and conditions directly affecting worker livelihood. Although more controversial, it may also be worthwhile to consider whether a policy should be adopted regarding admission of intoxicated employees to ratification meetings.

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IMPLEMENTATION ON THE JOB SITE:
Once again, much of the responsibility for this aspect of contract administration falls on the shoulders of an employer. A union cannot be complacent, however. In many contracts, there are provisions that apply specifically to unions and over which they have direct control. For example, the contract language may provide for one or more bulletin boards for union use. It is a union's responsibility to see that such bulletin boards are made available and in the location agreed upon. Additionally, the parties may have agreed that certain types of information are to be placed on bulletin boards with or without prior approval from a designated management official. A union's responsibility is then to screen information, to obtain approval, if required, and to grieve if unreasonable restrictions are imposed. Failure to perform these functions can make a union and/or some employees easy prey for disciplinary action.

Another area where a union may have indirect responsibility for implementation on the job site pertains to uniforms. If an employer is responsible for reimbursing employees for cleaning uniforms, for example, it is up to union representatives to tell bargaining unit employees that they must retain receipts in order to be eligible for reimbursement. Similarly, union representatives should observe the work force and correct employees if they are not in proper uniform before such conduct becomes the subject of disciplinary action. By engaging in such activities, union representatives can protect employees, diminish costly grievances, and may enhance the union's stature in the relationship with an employer.

The transition to a new contract always involves change and with it comes the potential for discipline problems and grievances. When a contract is first implemented and throughout its life, it is incumbent upon a union to continuously remind bargaining unit employees that it is their responsibility to COMPLY WITH THE CONTRACT AND WITH DIRECTIVES GIVEN BY SUPERVISORS AND GRIEVE LATER IF THEY HAVE A COMPLAINT. This advice is central to both the success of a union and the well being of bargaining unit employees. Union representatives should use union meetings and other opportunities to explain that employees who fail to follow this advice may be disciplined, put their career in jeopardy, and that even the best defense by a union may not be able to save them under such circumstances. It should also be explained that defending employees who fail to adhere to this advice costs a union valuable resources that it might not then have to pursue more important issues. Last, but hardly least, if an employer has enough problems with insubordination, a union and the employees may both suffer because the work may be contracted out. Clearly, this is a critical issue and it is a union's responsibility to educate bargaining unit employees about what it means to live under a collective bargaining agreement.

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