On the Road

with Rachel Hendricson*

About three years ago, I was invited to Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan to talk to the union and management bargaining teams.

The faculty and administration at Mott were wrestling with issues of distance education and intellectual property rights, and they had decided to use mutual gains bargaining to handle the thorny issues.

I had a chance to really look at issues of balance in bargaining, instead of staking a position--"We own it!"--and then defending that position to the death.

I had a chance to muse about the interests and fears of faculty and to speculate about what the interests and fears of management were, and how all overlapped at concern for the students and their education.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, then lost sight of what was going on at Mott.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Steve Robinson, the new faculty union president at Mott, stopped by to visit, bringing an early holiday present to NEA headquarters--a first glimpse of an agreement between the faculty and the college covering distance education and intellectual property rights.

It's a thoughtful document that I think will be a model for creativity and cooperation. Kudos, folks!

* Rachel Hendrickson coordinates NEA higher education activities.