(How Long Does It Take?)

No doubt a number of you have probably asked: "How long does it take to negotiate a first contract?" You will be surprised to learn that even if the union is successfully voted in, many times there are no "quick fixes." According to the law, there is no set time limit under which the parties must negotiate a first contract.

What this means is that negotiations can last for months or even years. Every single word of a contract must be negotiated. And neither side has to agree to any of the other side's proposals. Sometimes, this means that the parties NEVER reach an agreement. In fact, according to one study done at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), the following figures were compiled regarding first contract negotiations. Using 1,000 randomly collected first contract negotiations in all industries, it was determined that:

1. Only 25% of the time was the contract negotiated in the first year.
2. Only 75% of the time did the parties ever even reach a contract.
3. 25% of the time, the parties never even reached an agreement.
4. And strikes occurred in 9% of first contract negotiations.

The APWU is no better. Over the last 10 years, out of 17 representation elections won by the APWU they’ve been involved in only 9 negotiations that reached a first contract. How long did it take? Although there was one contract the APWU didn’t report the length of negotiations on, of those they did report, not once did they do it in less than a year. There were three contracts that were signed within 17 months, two took up to 23 months, and three more took the APWU over two years to reach an agreement! Keep in mind, there is a strong probability your wages will be frozen for the entire time it takes to negotiate a first contract. Plus, retroactive pay is not the norm in first contract negotiations.

Finally, think about this: The APWU has 3 first contracts currently in negotiations. The longest of those three has been batted back and forth for 59 months – almost 5 years! Are you willing to put what you have now at risk for 5 years of negotiations?

And once a contract is signed, there’s no guarantee the union will get employees what they promised. In well over half of the contracts the APWU has negotiated over the past 10 years, employees have received the same or less than they have now.