Los Angeles, CA
An accurate collective bargaining calendar would keep all affiliates advised of the status of important current and future negotiations. The calendar would show which contracts are coming up for negotiation; it would recap recent collective bargaining developments; it would report ongoing strikes and lockouts. In essence, it would provide a continuously updated snapshot of the collective bargaining world that would allow the labor movement to target and coordinate its collective bargaining efforts much better than is currently possible.
Constructing a collective bargaining calendar of information derived from outside sources, rather than from affiliates, would substantially undermine its effectiveness. Outside sources don't cover collective bargaining activities in all areas and sectors of the economy. They don't report all the relevant facts. Sometimes, they report facts incorrectly. Moreover, when they decide what to report, they use their own judgments and standards, rather than the judgments and standards of the affiliates doing the bargaining.
To maximize the power of the collective bargaining calendar as a planning tool, it is essential to have accurate basic information provided by affiliates. The information needed from affiliates for each major contract is: the name of the employer, the expiration date, the locations covered, and the number of employees covered.
The Executive Council strongly endorses the development of a collective bargaining calendar by the Strategic Approaches Committee and strongly urges all affiliates to provide necessary information to the Committee.