The Point: Expanded Bargaining and Silent Representatives!

10/9/2025

This week’s edition was prepared by The Point committee.  As always, The Point represents the views of the author(s) and is not the official position of the FSU.

Over the past several years the campus unions representing faculty and staff (CSU, FSU, and PSU) have all pushed for and achieved some form of “expanded bargaining” – whereby rank and file union members (who are not part of the core bargaining team) are permitted to observe bargaining sessions between their union and the Administration as “silent bargaining reps.” 

Expanded bargaining is a broad approach that unions throughout the country have adopted to ensure transparency within unions, to encourage membership participation at every step, and build power at the bargaining table.  When the FSU formally adopted the practice in 2019 the motivation was that an informed and engaged membership that participates in decision making will build a stronger FSU.  This is also why UMass Boston’s administration has consistently opposed efforts by all the unions to implement expanded bargaining.  Admin does not want the bargaining process to be transparent/public or to give faculty and staff more voice in the workplace.

With FSU having now negotiated two (three-year) contracts via expanded bargaining, the Point Committee decided to interview a handful of members from campus unions who participated as silent bargaining reps in the last (and for the PSU still ongoing) round of bargaining about their experiences with expanded bargaining.  Several themes emerged.

Strength in Numbers: Although members often participated because they were curious about the bargaining process, everyone interviewed got involved in large part because they realized there is “strength in numbers.”  As one put it, “I think it is important for management to see how people are impacted by what happens at the bargaining table.”  “When members attend the sessions, this visibility [provided by the presence of silent bargaining reps] can be powerful.”  Similarly, “Our presence can send a strong message that we are paying attention, unified, and committed to the process.” 

Transparency:  Participants also appreciated the amount of transparency that having outside observers provided – transparency both within the union and with respect to the Administration.  “It allows members to get a look into the bargaining process…provides awareness among the union members, trust in the process and our bargaining team.” 

A Real Learning Experience:  Almost to a person, participants learned valuable lessons, such as: “just how antagonistic Management is to accepting accountability or actual problem solving.  Maybe naively, I was expecting there to be much more expertise and desire to find a workable compromise on Management’s side.  Instead, they showed up unprepared, consistently refused to do basic fact checking or directly engage with the data or proposals we presented, and have aggressively tried to roll back our existing workplace protections.  The disdain I’ve watched [Admin] display towards our union members and our bargaining team has been truly saddening.”  One person witnessed firsthand “how frustrating the process can be when it appears the administration comes unprepared and continues to stall the process.”   Another noted, “I learned that, unfortunately, its feels like it’s management against [my union].  It seems like [my union] wants to work with management, but management…is constantly working against [my union]. 

Union Appreciation: Finally, participants noted how much they appreciated their bargaining teams for, in the words of one, “how resilient, prepared, and knowledgeable they are.”  Someone from another union was “in awe of the care, values, and commitment that the core bargaining team demonstrated and all the work they did to ensure a fair contract.  When management was less than willing to bargain fairly, our union remained strong and committed to bargaining in good faith.”  Likewise, “I’m proud to be part of a group of kind, competent, and well-meaning people who are willing to stand up for their coworkers and their livelihoods.”

This round of FSU bargaining is over.   The next round will start before we know it.  Please join the FSU at the next table.  There is, indeed, strength in numbers!