By: Renne Public Law Group Founding Partner Jonathan Holtzman and Renne Public Management Group Executive Director Nelson Fialho
Anyone who has spent time in public-sector labor negotiations knows the moment.
The economics line up.
The data is solid.
The comparables make sense.
The strategy is precise.
And then — suddenly — the deal unravels.
Maybe a councilmember reads a social media post the night before a meeting. Perhaps a labor rally draws headlines. Or an elected official begins to feel politically exposed. What seemed like a stable negotiation suddenly shifts.
For many agencies, negotiations do not collapse because the economics fail. They collapse because governing body support erodes.
Any local government executive understands that elected officials rarely evaluate negotiations based solely on data. Governing body members process information through several concurrent lenses: their values, their constituencies, their relationships and sometimes their political futures. Most want to make responsible decisions for their communities, but they do not want to be blindsided. Understanding those dynamics is essential to maintaining governing body alignment when negotiations become difficult.
This reality highlights a truth familiar to experienced negotiators: The bargaining table is only part of the negotiation.
The Iceberg Beneath the Table
A metaphorical iceberg captures this dynamic well.
The visible portion of negotiations — the bargaining sessions themselves — is what most people recognize. But the majority of the process sits beneath the surface.
That submerged work includes:
- Building alignment among senior staff
- Establishing trust with the governing body
- Developing proposals and costing analysis
- Conducting comparability research
- Analyzing fiscal impacts and reserves
- Preparing for closed-session discussions
- Messaging internally and externally
- Engaging in informal discussions with labor representatives
- Conducting legal and operational review of agreements
In many cases, these below-the-waterline efforts have far more influence on the outcome than the bargaining table dialogue.
The iceberg metaphor is also apt for another reason: If these issues are not managed well, they can sink the ship.
The Reality of “Two Tables”
Another useful way to understand negotiations is to recognize that there are really two tables.
The first is the obvious one: the bargaining table, where proposals are exchanged and agreements are crafted.
The second table is less visible: the governing body table, which often is more consequential.
At that table sit the dynamics that ultimately determine whether an agreement survives:
- The councilmember concerned about re-election
- The board member who wants to appear fiscally tough
- Another who prioritizes labor peace
- A newly elected official who is cautious about risk
- A veteran policymaker who has seen negotiations collapse before
Managing negotiations effectively requires navigating both tables simultaneously.
The Politics Behind Bargaining Collapses
When negotiations collapse, the cause often appears political — and in many respects, it is.
Police unions, for example, often have outsized influence in an era where crime remains a major political issue. Fire unions enjoy strong public support. Political leaders from across the ideological spectrum often find reasons to support safety unions.
Political pressure on elected officials is inevitable.
So how does management guard against a collapse under those conditions?
There is no sure-fire solution. But there are practical steps that can significantly strengthen governing body alignment.
1. Study and Learn
Engendering trust with elected officials begins with preparation.
Management teams must demonstrate a deep understanding of the fiscal, operational and legal landscape surrounding negotiations.
Examples include:
Understand the comparability universe.
Is the universe truly comparable? Even if jurisdictions are geographically proximate, are they similar socioeconomically? Are a few outliers driving the comparison? Is there another jurisdiction that more closely mirrors your agency?
Scrutinize revenue projections.
How solid are the assumptions? Is there future revenue potential? What is the anticipated carryover? Unexpected discoveries of available funds — even one-time funds — can quickly derail negotiations.
Know the numbers.
What does a 1% salary increase cost? How will pension contributions and health-care costs change over time? What are the financial impacts of premium pays, overtime or staffing adjustments?
Conduct a legal and operational review.
Review MOUs carefully for legal issues, FLSA concerns, operational challenges or management rights that may need clarification or recovery. Seek input from operating departments.
Preparation does more than inform strategy. It builds credibility.
2. Teach
At their core, negotiations are about education.
Governing bodies benefit from understanding not just what staff recommends, but why.
Effective negotiators help elected officials understand:
- how comparability data are constructed
- how compensation philosophy influences decisions
- how fiscal capacity constrains options
- how operational realities affect bargaining positions
When governing bodies understand the underlying framework, they are more likely to sustain alignment when negotiations become difficult.
3. Build the Box
Before negotiations begin, agencies should work with their governing bodies to define the parameters of decision-making.
One useful concept is “building the box.”
The box defines the space within which negotiations should occur. Its boundaries may include:
- Fiscal realities
- Market comparability
- Operational impacts
- Strategic priorities
These constraints will inevitably be tested as negotiations progress. But establishing them early helps anchor decision-making when pressure increases.
4. Read the Room
Negotiations are, in many ways, negotiations among governing body members themselves.
Understanding the perspectives of individual members can be essential.
What motivates them?
What external influences shape their thinking?
Who do they trust?
Who influences them outside the room?
Insights can come from closed-session discussions, one-on-one briefings and careful observation of public statements.
5. Test the Consensus Early and Often
Early consensus can be fragile.
When negotiations encounter resistance, public pressure or unexpected developments, alignment can begin to shift.
Regular check-ins help determine whether consensus still holds and provide opportunities to reinforce shared assumptions or adjust strategy as circumstances evolve. Preparing talking points for governing body members after key decision points can further help maintain consistency in messaging.
6. Be Consistent and Even-Handed
In most organizations, information finds its way out.
Because of this reality, it is often best to ensure that the union hears the same core messages the governing body hears, and that governing body members receive accurate reports of discussions at the table.
When people hear consistent information from multiple sources, credibility grows.
It is also important that negotiators maintain professional balance. If governing body members perceive management as dismissive of labor concerns, it can undermine confidence — particularly among members who value collaborative labor relations.
7. Avoid Mistakes at the Table
Many negotiation collapses stem not from strategy but from avoidable mistakes.
Displays of anger, inconsistent messaging, inaccurate information, shifting positions, or procedural missteps can quickly undermine a sound negotiation strategy.
Union negotiations often involve individuals ready to champion perceived grievances. Maintaining professionalism, transparency, and consistency reduces the likelihood that tactical errors become political flashpoints.
Careful preparation and record-keeping help avoid these pitfalls.
8. Timing Is Everything
Governing bodies often hope negotiations will conclude quickly. In practice, unions rarely move on major issues until they believe management has reached the limits of its authority.
Attempting to force movement prematurely can backfire.
Negotiations often close only when the union believes the governing body is near its boundary. For that reason, excessive pressure at the table can sometimes undermine long-term strategy.
Patience, discipline and communication with governing bodies are essential.
Some Thoughts About Political Astuteness
Even well-managed negotiations can be disrupted by external forces.
Media coverage, community sentiment and advocacy group pressure can influence governing body perceptions quickly — sometimes overnight.
To counterbalance these pressures, agency leaders must demonstrate a form of political astuteness.
Political astuteness is not manipulation or playing politics. It is the ability to understand how organizations and decision-making environments truly function.
Effective leaders demonstrate:
- Strategic awareness: seeing several moves ahead
- Emotional intelligence: understanding how individuals and groups react under pressure
- Relationship capital: maintaining credibility with stakeholders
- Narrative awareness: ensuring the agency tells its own story
- Coalition-building and timing: knowing when and how to socialize ideas
- Contextual framing: interpreting negotiations as part of a broader strategy
- Institutional loyalty: prioritizing long-term organizational stability over short-term wins
Agencies that cultivate these leadership traits can significantly strengthen their ability to maintain governing body alignment throughout negotiations.
Final Thought
A seasoned city manager once summarized labor negotiations this way:
“The economics matter — but the politics decide whether the economics survive.”
Successful negotiations require more than strong proposals, accurate costing and persuasive arguments at the bargaining table. They require building and sustaining confidence among the governing body responsible for the final decision.
When agencies invest the time to educate their governing bodies, define decision-making parameters, maintain trust and anticipate external pressures, negotiations become more stable and more durable.
Because in the end, the most important negotiation may not be the one happening across the table — but the one happening beyond it.
Renne Public Law Group Founding Partner Jonathan Holtzman
Renne Public Management Group Executive Director Nelson Fialho
“Getting and Maintaining Support of Governing Bodies for Negotiations”
2025 California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference