Reflecting on the Simulation: Class #2 Blog

The opening session of the simulation went very smoothly for my group (Teacher Group #1). We realized that establishing the ground rules is an important part of the collective bargaining process. Probably the hardest part of this simulation so far was thinking from the standpoint of the teachers' side after several years in the administrative role. I had to remind myself several times that I was thinking as a teachers' union member. Nonetheless, it was a very beneficial experience to negotiate from the union side in order to understand the viewpoints of the teachers' association during the negotiations process.
I am not sure if the ground rules session that we had with the Board is typical of true ground rules sessions; however, I was pleased with the way our session progressed. In the end, our proposals for the ground rules were very similar to those proposed by the Board group. As a result, with some very minor compromises, our groups were able to reach an agreement on the ground rules in a minimal amount of time. Furthermore, I feel that we were able to establish a level of trust going into the main portion of the collective baraining simulation. I sincerely hope this trust and goodwill can be maintained throughout the collective bargaining process.