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January
26,
2006 |
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Labor
Contract Negotiations We
just briefed the Board on the status of our plans and preparations to
begin contract negotiations in March with the Amalgamated Transit Union
(ATU) and the United Transportation Union (UTU) with the aim of
consummating an agreement by the time the current contracts expire at
the end of June 2006. It
has been widely, and correctly, reported that Metro and Union
negotiators have agreed to take a radically different approach to the
negotiations. We already have begun a helpful dialog with our union
counterparts about the process and in February each side will complete a
course of professional training in “interest based negotiating” - an
approach that has proven successful in similar contract negotiations
around the country. Interest
Based Negotiating (IBN) works on the principle that contract
negotiations that begin with a focus on each side’s real interests and
aims, rather than from entrenched positions, tend to be more optimistic,
less prone to break down, and more quickly productive of balanced
agreements that produce ‘no losers.’ Productivity
gains, service improvements and modest financial gains made 2005 a good
year for Metro and its customers but this does not mean the negotiations
will be easy. Indeed, we face the triple financial challenge of
negotiating a fair contract that will secure our productivity and
service gains, reducing Metro’s large structural deficit, and, not
least of all, devising a sustainable financial plan capable of funding
Metro’s operational and other commitments. Challenges
notwithstanding, as head of Metro Operations and lead negotiator for
Metro, I am optimistic about our upcoming talks. There is every reason
to believe that, if we fully engage in the interest based approach, we
can avoid the counterproductive acrimony of past negotiations and
achieve new labor contracts that further the interests of Metro, its
employees and, most importantly, our customers. Metro-011 |