London Business School

Negotiation and Bargaining

Laura Giurge

POST-NEGOTIATION AND CASE ANALYSIS FOR ABC/LOCAL 190

Over the past term, you participated in a multi-round union-management negotiation. This
negotiation was based on an actual negotiation between George Hormel Company (best known for
its Spam and Dinty Moore Stew products) and Local P-9 of the United Food and Commercial
Workers Union, and is captured in the documentary, American Dream.

For your post-negotiation and case analysis, you will analyse the Hormel negotiations, as well as
compare and contrast the actual negotiations to your ABC/Local 190 negotiations. You will
complete this assignment with your ABC/Local 190 team.

In developing your answers, you should be certain to integrate material from your negotiations, the
course readings, lectures, and class discussions. Your answers will be graded on three criteria: (1)
the soundness of your response, (2) the integration of theory to support your perspective, and (3) the
clarity and quality of your writing.

Your analysis should be 5-7 pages long (no longer than 7 pages, double-spaced, Times New
Roman 12-point font, 1-inch margins).

QUESTIONS

1. List the parties involved in the Hormel negotiations. What are the primary goals/interests of each
party? In addition, briefly describe two pairs of parties that are in conflict with each other and
explain why they are in conflict.

2. Using the interests, rights, and power model (covered in Ury, Brett, & Goldberg: Three
Approaches to Resolving Disputes), analyse how the Local P-9 and Hormel negotiators approached
the negotiations, including an explanation of how these approaches affected the negotiation process
and outcome.

3. List two critical integrative strategies that you used in your ABC/Local 190 negotiations (in any
or all of the three rounds). Discuss how these strategies could have been used by either the Local P-
9 or Hormel negotiators to come to a better negotiation process and/or outcome.

4. Imagine that you are a member of the Local P-10ers (dissidents within P-9) and you are thinking
of building a coalition to gain strength. What other party would you build your coalition with and
why? How would you ensure a stable coalition?
 CAST OF CHARACTERS IN AMERICAN DREAM

Lewie Anderson, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International vice president, and
Meatpacking Division director and chief negotiator

R.J. Bergstrom and Ron Bergstrom, brothers in P-9 who ultimately take opposing courses of
action

Jim Guyette, president of Local P-9 of the UFCW International, elected 1983

Richard Knowlton, CEO of George A. Hormel & Company

John Morrison, a P-10er (dissidents within Local P-9 are called P-10er), who was subsequently
elected business agent for the Local in 1987

Charles Nyberg, senior vice president of Hormel and its chief negotiator

Ray Rogers, founder and president of Corporate Campaign, Inc., hired by P-9 in 1984 as consultant
on strategy

Sheriff Wayne Goodnature and Police Chief Don Hoffman, law enforcement officials in Austin,
Minnesota

William Wynn, UFCW International president