Dear Colleagues,
If the National Education Association (NEA), a teachers' union representing primarily schoolteachers, becomes your exclusive representative, the university would be required to bargain in good faith — and we would. What does bargaining in good faith mean? Here is how the New Hampshire public employee labor law defines it:
"Good faith" negotiation involves meeting at reasonable times and places in an effort to reach agreement on the terms of employment … but the obligation to negotiate in good faith shall not compel either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession.
The law says that the university and the NEA have to make "an effort to reach an agreement.” The university would meet that legal requirement, but it does not guarantee an agreement will be reached. There are no guarantees with collective bargaining.
The law says that trying to reach an agreement does not require “either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession.” Any promise the union may have made can only come true if the university agrees.
Both the university and the NEA can make proposals it wants and neither party has to give up on any of its proposals. The university would bargain in good faith and try to reach an agreement, but the university does not have to agree to any contract provision that it thinks is not good for the university, its students or its mission. That is simply the law.
Negotiations for a first contract can take a long time. The university and the NEA have been negotiating at UNH Law since 2015 for a first contract and negotiations are still underway. No one knows how long those negotiations may last. No one knows how long any negotiations may last. And during negotiations, the status quo regarding wages, hours and other benefits must be maintained.
It is very easy for the NEA or its supporters to make promises about what the union can do. It is important to understand the rules — the law — and realize that none of those promises automatically come true. Agreement by the university is required.
Thank you,
Kathy Neils
Chief Human Resources Officer
