BLOG ACADEMIC PROGRAMS & FACULTY EXECUTIVE EDUCATION Sign

In
PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School - https://www.pon.harvard.edu
TEACHING MATERIALS & PUBLICATIONS FREE REPORTS EVENTS ABOUT

Top Business Negotiations: Michael Bloomberg
versus the New York Teachers’ Union
Business negotiations seeking to resolve a dispute should foster a
cooperative spirit, framing negotiations around gains rather than losses.
BY PON STAFF — ON APRIL 6TH, 2017 / BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS

Business negotiations seeking to resolve a

dispute should foster a cooperative spirit,
framing negotiations around gains rather than
losses. And when business negotiators are far
apart, it may take a professional mediator or
other independent party to help bridge the
divide.

Hard Bargaining with New

York City’s Teacher’s Union
In 2010, New York State passed a law requiring its school districts to replace their old
teacher-evaluation systems with more stringent systems. Local school districts and
their unions were charged with specifying certain aspects of their new systems by
January 17, 2013.

New York City stood to gain about $250 million in aid and $200 million in grants if it
reached agreement on a new system, a 4% overall increase in state aid. But as 2012
drew to a close, talks between New York’s United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and New
York mayor Michael Bloomberg were deadlocked. On the deadline date of January 17,
2013, the two sides separately announced that a nal, late-night negotiating session
had collapsed. New York governor Andrew Cuomo ultimately imposed an evaluation
system on New York City.

Unfortunately, both Bloomberg and the UFT had much to gain from a new teacher-
evaluation system, including better teachers and state funding, but the deadlocked
negotiations hindered the agreement.

When a negotiation reaches an impasse (or, preferably, sooner), it’s important to

consider that you may be at the wrong table.

What other individuals or groups might be able to break the deadlock? Perhaps you
should be talking to them instead.

When have you had a deadlock in business negotiations? Leave a comment.

Related Business Negotiation Articles:

These Examples Illustrate the Importance of Negotiation in Business – Businesses need

a plan for negotiation – before and after sitting down at the bargaining table. In this
article we examine business negotiation examples and negotiation case studies to offer
insights into how businesses and commercial negotiators can formulate and anticipate
effective integrative negotiation strategies and deal with dif cult people and overcome
roadblocks at the bargaining table to negotiation success.