Organize around an economic decision

Workplace bargaining: define a demand workers can enforce

Start with the workers affected and any existing bargaining representative. Identify the workplace, current agreement, expiry date, wage or safety issue, and the person authorized to negotiate. A civic group can support workers; it cannot appoint itself their bargaining representative.

The NLRB’s bargaining guidance explains bargaining through an employee representative over wages, hours and other employment terms. Under 29 U.S.C. § 158(d), the bargaining duty does not compel agreement to a proposal or a concession.

Check NLRA coverage first. Many private-sector employees are covered; public employees and several other categories are excluded. An exclusion does not by itself settle rights under another law. Public-sector and other special regimes require their own review.

1. Document the problem using records workers may lawfully provide. Separate individual experience from workplace-wide data.
2. Agree on one demand with the authorized worker organization: exact coverage, amount or standard, start date and exceptions.
3. Ask how the proposal enters bargaining and how members participate in approving an agreement.
4. Include a way to check implementation and raise noncompliance through the applicable grievance or enforcement process.
5. Compare the signed agreement with schedules, pay records or safety practices. A negotiating proposal is not a contract term.

Before planning a stoppage, picketing or pressure on another employer, obtain advice under the applicable labor law and agreement. This preparation guide does not establish that a particular tactic is protected.

“We seek [specific term] for [covered workers], effective [date]. The evidence is [records]. Who can negotiate this term, how will workers approve it, and what process will correct a failure to follow it?”

Public purchasing: put the standard into the contract

Identify the purchasing office, contract or solicitation, renewal date and budget authority. Read the current specification, evaluation criteria and performance requirements. Distinguish a proposal for future policy from a request to change an active competition or existing contract.

Federal acquisition rules generally require full and open competition with specified exceptions. FAR subpart 6.1 supplies that baseline. Check the actual agency rules and applicable deviations for a federal procurement; state and local purchasing uses its own authority.

1. Define the public outcome: reliable service, safer conditions, reduced waste or another lawful objective. Cite the evidence of the problem.
2. Propose a measurable requirement, verification method and response to nonperformance. Avoid standards that merely favor a named vendor.
3. Ask procurement staff to review legality, competition, cost, available suppliers and the stage at which a change is possible.
4. Use the designated public policy or solicitation channel. Keep procurement questions separate from a formal bid protest and its eligibility rules.
5. Inspect the adopted specification, signed contract, performance reports and corrective actions.

Hypothetical: A city’s service contract promises timely repairs but reports no missed appointments. Citizens could propose a defined response-time measure, monthly reporting and a contract remedy reviewed by procurement staff. “Responsible purchasing” becomes testable when the duty and consequence appear in the contract.

Institutional investment: name the policy and the trustee’s duty

A university endowment, public pension and private retirement plan do not have identical purposes or governing law. Locate the investment policy, board or trustees, delegated manager authority, meeting process and available holdings reports. Identify whether the request concerns disclosure, shareholder engagement, new purchases or sale of existing holdings.

The Department of Labor explains ERISA fiduciary responsibilities, including prudent selection and monitoring for covered plans. It also notes that government plans are not covered by ERISA. Do not apply a private-plan rule to a public pension or assume an endowment can ignore its governing duties.

1. Identify the specific exposure or conduct using dated holdings and reliable evidence. An institution’s total assets are not its holdings in the company at issue.
2. State the proposed policy, covered assets, exceptions, timeline and reporting requirement.
3. Request analysis of legal authority, beneficiary or institutional duties, risk, fees, liquidity and implementation costs.
4. Compare available options, including engagement, voting, purchase restrictions or divestment. Explain why the selected route fits the purpose.
5. Track the board’s adopted wording and manager instructions, then inspect later reports against the defined scope.

A sale transfers ownership; it does not by itself prove a company changed its operations. Measure the institution’s action separately from any claimed effect on the company. This is a civic-policy preparation route, not advice to trade personal investments.

A shared action card

Ask for a defined act within the decision-maker’s authority. Keep the response and final wording. Return on the agreed date with the evidence needed to tell whether a promise became practice.