1. Prepare to negotiate Preparation is the key to winning a beneficial contract.

All preparation work done can be used in negotiation, mediation and arbitration, if necessary. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, Section 14, provides for arbitrators to base their decisions on criteria including "the financial ability of the unit of government to meet those costs" and "wages, hours and conditions of employment of other employees performing similar services and with other employees generally (a) in public employment in comparable communities." This type of information can be hard for Locals to obtain, but is readily available through the AFFI on a statewide basis. To learn more about the Economic / Demographic Database or the Wage, Benefit and Hour Database, check this site for AFFI Information Services. Your District Vice President must okay use of these services from the Information Services Manager, e-mail address [email protected]. Comparable communities must first be identified. If these have not been agreed on by the employer and the union, comparables may be those previously chosen by an arbitrator. Or the union may desire to present a new group of comparables through use of the AFFI Economic / Demographic Database. Generally, you will only compare to other unionized departments of similar size and finances which are in the same job market. This is a critical bargaining decision and should be thoroughly discussed with your district Vice-President or attorney. If you have any uncertainty, do not propose any comparables to the employer without seeking input from your Vice-President or attorney. Central District Vice-President Northern District Vice-President Southern District Vice-President Vice-President at Large [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

If you wish to individually research your city or fire protection district or your comparables, check this list of on-line resources for data.

2. Determine Desired Contract Features Examine the relevant features in the contracts of your comparable communities and determine specific compensation levels using reports from the AFFI Wage, Benefit and Hour Database. Before using in negotiation, verify all data through that comparable Local's contract. Contract copies may be obtained by calling or E-Mailing the AFFI Office. For a First Contract. . . Determine what features (wages, benefits, hours, terms and conditions) your Local desires to have in its initial contract. This is usually determined by examination of current working conditions and by examination of the compensation levels of nearby, comparable departments. Your District Vice President and/or Vice President At-Large will work with you in determining appropriate starting points and basic contract verbiage. For a Successor Contract. . . Using the current contract as a baseline, determine which issues the Local desires to "open" in the upcoming contract. Determine which issues your Local might reasonably expect to obtain in its next contract based on your local's needs and comparable departments. 3. Activate Employer's Duty to Bargain For a First Contract. . . After securing voluntary recognition as the bargaining agent or ILRB Certification, send a formal demand to bargain in writing to the employer representative; a copy should at the same time be sent to the ILRB.

If no agreement is reached within 30 days of the first bargaining session for a first contract, send a completed copy of the Notice of Status of Negotiations to the Executive Director of the ILRB. Note that all ILRB forms should be sent to the Springfield office address. To obtain the ILRB Notice of Status of Negotiations form, click here. For a Successor Contract. . . Determine the expiration date and file a demand to bargain on the employer 60 days prior to the scheduled termination date of the existing agreement. A copy of that demand to bargain shall be filed with the ILRB at the same time by the union. (Note: The term for all contracts should correspond to municipality's fiscal year.) Many believe it is a sound investment to send any correspondence to the employer via Certified Letter with Return Receipt. The cost is less than $3 extra and it provides verifiable proof that notification was delivered at the stated time. To obtain a (Sample) Demand to Bargain to be sent the employer, click here. If no agreement is reached within 30 days after the service of the demand to bargain a successor contract, send a completed Notice of No Agreement to the Executive Director of the ILRB. A copy should be filed at the same time with the employer. To obtain the ILRB Notice of No Agreement form, click here. 4. Activate Union Rights Under Section 14 Impasse Procedures Starting Mediation For a Successor Contract. . . If no agreement is reached prior to the last 30 days of the contract term, send a letter to Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) requesting the assignment of a Mediator. Both the Union and the Employer must sign this request. Mediation is mandatory during the last 30 days of the contract per state Statute. If the Employer refuses to join in the request, send a unilateral Request for Mediation Panel to ISLRB. If the Employer has refused a joint request to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, it will have to pay 100 percent of the State Mediator's fee, per Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, Section 14(a). Send a copy of any letter to the FMCS to the ILRB so they can continue to track negotiation time lines. To obtain a (Sample) Letter to the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, click here. To obtain the ILRB Request for Mediation Panel form, click here. The Executive Director of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, Brian Reynolds, noted on one recent case that: "The existence of an 'impasse' does not effect the time frames for filing for mediation. Often, the parties will agree not to go to mediation at the time of the request, but delay mediation until after they bargain more." Reynolds also stated: "If the parties do not agree to defer use of a mediator, then mediation is appropriate regardless of an impasse or even whether bargaining has occurred." Under no circumstances should filing of the Request for Mediation be delayed past the start of the Employer's fiscal year (for example, if the contract and fiscal year expire on 4/30/00, file the request before 5/1/00). Filing before the start of the fiscal year protects the arbitrator's jurisdiction to award retroactive pay increases. For a First Contract. . . Same as above, except mediation must commence within 15 days of service of notice requesting mediation. Serve notice no later than 60 days prior to the start of the next fiscal year. Again, send copies of any letters to the FMCS to the ILRB so that a negotiation time line can be tracked. Invoking Interest Arbitration If no agreement has been reached within 15 days after the first meeting of the parties with the mediator, you have the right to file a Demand for Compulsory Interest Arbitration. As a general rule, do this prior to the expiration of the contract. It will typically take two to three

months to pick an arbitrator and schedule a hearing. (Note: In the interest of ensuring a knowledgeable, experienced arbitrator, both parties may want to specify that the panel be limited to members of the National Academy of Arbitrators. If so, attach a stipulation to the demand for arbitration form. To obtain the ILRB Demand for Compulsory Interest Arbitration form, click here. To obtain a (Sample) Stipulation to the ILRB Request, click here. Once an arbitrator is selected, the scheduling of the hearing can be adjusted to correspond to the bargaining process. Be certain the ILRB is notified of which arbitrator is selected. If an impasse is likely, schedule the hearing sooner. If you are within two or three weeks of a hearing date and no agreement has been reached, it is a good idea to set up some basic ground rules, such as those attached. These ground rules have been mutually agreeable and used in many interest arbitrations. To obtain (Sample) Suggested Ground Rules and Stipulations, click here. 5. File Completed Contract After a new agreement is signed, file two signed copies within 60 days along with the appropriate ILRB form. Also send one signed copy to the AFFI office (along with a copy on computer disk if possible.) To obtain the ILRB Filing of Collective Bargaining Agreement form, click here.

For Further Information To obtain the ILRB Impasse Procedures for Protective Services Units, click here. To obtain complete ILRB Rules and Regulations, click here. To view or print the complete Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, click here.