• Advanced Bargaining Certificate Program

Union staff and attorneys who support contract negotiations and grievance handling, union members on bargaining or campaign action teams, or union members at large who would like to participate in bargaining someday should attend this course.

Upon successful completion of the program, you will feel more equipped and confident to prepare and present contract proposals, thus leaving with a proficient level of knowledge and skills to go forward doing the work. Specifically you will:

• Know how to create comprehensive, complete contract proposals that effectively addresses various issues sought by a bargaining team
• Be able to identify and revise unclear or problematic contract language
• Be able to demonstrate mastery tone, verbiage and intent in their proposals
• Know how to write proposals in a way to ensure the intent is accurately represented during negotiations, and able to be enforced effectively
• Know how to identify gaps in current contracts to be addressed
• Be able to find relevant contract language examples to build from

Week 1 – Contract proposal drafting

• Keywords and phrases
• Arbitrator's rules of interpretation
• Word search to identify headaches, ambiguities, and fluff

Week 2 – Part 1: Editing existing language

• How to edit existing language to be more readable
• Practice editing sample contract language
• Research language used in other relevant CBAs

Week 3 – Part 2: Editing existing language

• Dissect effective drafting for four specific clauses: 
  • Grievance Definition
  • Successor Clauses
  • No Strike/lockout
  • Management’s Rights/Work Rules

Week 4 – Part 1: Drafting new language

• Share edits with partner to get feedback
• Nuts and bolts for drafting a new proposal

Week 5 – Part 2: Drafting new language on AI

• Researching Artificial Intelligence concerns in your industry
• Drafting an AI Clause

Week 6 – Organizing for a first contract

Do I need a laptop for this class?
Yes. A laptop with Microsoft Word already loaded is required.

Is there a required textbook?
No, no textbooks are required for this program. Reading materials will be provided in class.

Do I get DePaul credit for this class?
No, but some DePaul CPE courses have been approved for continuing education units (CEUs). These classes are professional education classes with different requirements than courses taken for academic credit.

Is this class offered in-person or online?
This certificate program is offered in-person.

Will I have to write papers and take exams?
There will be short papers and exams in some of the courses.