Consensus Bargaining in Wisconsin State Government: A New Approach to Labor Negotiation

Abstract

Wisconsin, always one of the pioneers in public sector bargaining, has contributed here a move from traditional to cooperative bargaining. As in many jurisdictions, bargaining had developed in a way that produced a great deal of conflict, characterized by frequent and lengthy impasses, a grievance backlog that reached 1,400 arbitration cases and a public and political leadership that was losing patience. This jointly written article illustrates how change can begin, the role of statewide leadership, the resulting work behind the scenes and the possibilities.

Since 1992, the Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations and the state's largest labor union, the 27,000-member Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU), have successfully used “consensus bargaining.” This cooperative, problem-solving approach contrasts sharply with the traditional adversarial and confrontational approach to bargaining. Consensus bargaining focuses on identifying and meeting bargainers' interests and creating a positive and constructive basis for discussions. This problem-solving approach has created more cooperative labor-management relations in Wisconsin State Government, reduced bargaining time, stimulated creative new contract provisions and helped develop a more positive and closer labor-management relationship. There are several keys to successful consensus negotiation: management and union leaders must be committed to the process; leaders must model cooperative behavior; bargainers should receive formal training in the process; negotiators must be candid throughout bargaining; and management and labor have to realize that reaching agreement on a contract is the beginning, not the end of creating a cooperative relationship. Wisconsin State Government, the WSEU, and other state employee unions have successfully used the consensus process and are committed to this cooperative approach.