Tensions were already high coming into this round of contract negotiations. Last year, the Sierra Club began laying off large numbers of employees in order to account for a purported $60 million budget gap and restructure the organization around state-based chapters. While Berman declined to provide figures as to how many staff had been laid off or accepted severance packages, PWU reports that 33 of its members are no longer wiht the organization as a result of this restructuring process. Many of those leaving accepted voluntary severance packages, the terms of which were hotly debated in negotiations between the union and the Club.
Back at the bargaining table now over a new contract, PWU reports a virtual stand-still, claiming management has been largely unwilling to engage with the proposals they’ve put forward. Unlike in the last round of negotiations over the impact of the restructuring on union members, the Sierra Club is being represented at the bargaining table by five lawyers. Three of those lawyers are outside counsel, partners at the law firms Dilworth Paxson and SloanSokai. Sierra Club declined to provide details as to the make-up of its bargaining team or how much it was paying outside counsel, though employment-side lawyers can charge between $300 to $1500 per hour if billing hourly. PWU says that they’ve spent 66.5 hours at the bargaining table in this round of negotiations so far, although legal fees would very likely cover time outside of that, as well. In an email to management in late December, Jealous said they would need “at least 100 hours at the bargaining table to negotiate the contract.”
Sierra Club management has repeatedly countered allegations of bad faith bargaining by pointing to its own demands for longer and more frequent bargaining sessions, citing PWU’s unwillingness to come to the table. The union counters that it sees little point participating in hours of talks when management has been unwilling to make meaningful compromises. “We used to be able to have a discussion at the table about the situation we were dealing with, where the people across the table knew what we were talking about and cared to some extent,” says Garcia-Linz, referencing previous negotiations. “It’s been challenging to get their lawyers to engage with our proposals. There are a few places where we did make some movement, but in the places where it matters—like annual cost of living increases and disciplinary measures—we are very far apart. They’re not coming with new proposals.”