I've negotiated contracts as a union rep.
When I sat at the table even though I knew my members were asking for something I would never get I would put it on the table. Sometimes this back and forth would last days other times it would last months, but at the end of the day I tried to get the best deal I could for the membership. I represented people, not profits, my goal was to get as much as I could without killing the golden goose.
Did I dislike the people across the table, the answer is no. The people across the table were not the employers most were from H&R and a lawyer. Were they putting something on the table much less than the real employer was willing to offer yes. But it was all part of the game.
See I was trying to get as much as I could for the members and the H&R people were trying to make their employer happy and protect their own job.
I still have a copy of the last contract I negotiated, there are 27 signatures on it 26 were representing the employer and the single one is mine.
Though this ends up being a tennis match, I was the one sitting at the table concerned with people lives. Financially I was not going to gain from whatever we agreed to, the only thing I would get is the respect from the membership.
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