Resource allocation

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To support meaningful collaboration, many union agreements include provisions requiring employers to allocate financial, staffing, and technical resources. These commitments help ensure that labor-management structures have the capacity and expertise to operate effectively, address complex issues, and shape technology-related decisions.

This section highlights two primary types of resource commitments:

• Employer contributions, operational funding, and staff allocation: Direct funding for committees, dedicated staff positions, and support for implementation activities.
• Technical assistance and support resources: Access to internal experts (e.g., IT staff or specialists), external consultants (e.g., engineers or cybersecurity professionals), and facilitation or training to support decision-making, build collaborative skills, and assist with dispute resolution.

Employer contributions, operational funding, and staff allocation

Many agreements commit employers to directly funding collaborative bodies or assigning dedicated staff to support joint efforts. These provisions provide a foundation for sustained collaboration by covering operational costs or funding positions devoted to implementation and employee support.

Examples:

• “Labor Management Forum (LMF) costs shall be the responsibility of the [Employer].” (NNU-OPM37)
• “Each employer hereby accepts, agrees to be bound by, and shall be entitled to participate in the National Labor Management Cooperation Committee (NLMCC), as provided in said Agreement and Declaration of Trust. Each employer shall contribute one cent ($.01) per hour worked under this agreement up to a maximum of 150,000 hours per year in each local union jurisdiction.” (IBEW-PCBA35)
• “Employers subject to the terms of this agreement, shall contribute 11 cents for each pay hour of gross straight Line time labor payroll for each hour worked for journeymen to the trust fund, the contribution shall be made weekly.” (AFSCME-OPM44)
• “The primary staff of the Committee will be two full time employees, one selected by the Union, one by the Company, who shall also serve as the Employee Placement Team under the Force Adjustment Plan. The Company will fund these positions as well as the office and systems costs of this staff. The Committee’s staff will, at the direction of the Committee, develop methods to efficiently place surplus employees in job vacancies … in accordance with the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, and recommend to the Committee appropriate focus points for employee test taking and other training as detailed in the employee Development Programs. The staff will also seek mutually acceptable resolutions of issues involving medical testing, non-management testing and delayed releases. They will also evaluate planned Company actions or changes referred to in the preceding paragraph, and provide input to the Committee regarding alternatives to mitigate employee impact.” (CWA-PCBA44)
• “In terms of material resources, input from the participative work system steering and departmental committees will be utilized to prioritize allocation of the facility training budget. The company will utilize any applicable and available State of Alabama personnel and funds to further the development and implementation of a participative work system, and will consider the utilization of other outside resources should the committee so deem necessary.” (USW-IBEW-OLMS4)

Technical assistance and expertise allocation

In addition to funding and staff, many agreements ensure that labor-management bodies have access to technical expertise and facilitative support. This includes internal specialists, external consultants, and resources for training and dispute resolution.

Internal subject matter experts

Agreements often designate internal experts—such as IT staff or subject matter specialists—to support committee work or respond to union inquiries.

Examples:

• “If requested, the [Employer] shall normally provide subject matter experts to answer the [Union’s] questions concerning technology.” (AALJ-IFPTE-OPM6)
• “When requested by a Discussion Group, arrangements shall be made for key people from the [Employer], the [Union] and elsewhere to address the Group.” (POPA-OPM66)
• “In instances where sub-committees are established by this joint labor-management committee, and the parties have determined that Subject Matter Experts (SME) and/or union representatives are required, the Union will notify the Department of the appointment of a person to participate in sub-committee activities under this article.” (AFGE-OPM125)
• “Subject matter experts may attend to address specific agenda items and as mutually agreed to by the Parties.” (AFGE-OPM117)
• “Information technology staff may serve as a resource to the committee.” (AFT-PCBA106)

External experts

Some agreements authorize joint committees to retain external consultants, such as engineers or cybersecurity professionals, for technical evaluation and decision-making.

Examples:

• “The Joint Sensors Committee shall retain such experts as it deems necessary in order to conduct its work, including but not limited to engineers, data scientists, and cybersecurity.” (NFLPA-PCBA5)
• “The Wearables Committee will jointly retain such experts as it deems necessary in order to conduct its work (e.g., to validate a wearable device or to set cybersecurity standards), which the parties expect to include professionals in areas such as engineering, data science, and cybersecurity. The costs of such experts will be borne equally by the [League] and the [Union], and the [Union’s] share shall be paid by the [League] and included in Player Benefits under … this Agreement.” (NBPA-OLMS1)

Facilitation and training experts

Other contracts include provisions for labor-management training and neutral facilitation, supporting skills development and dispute resolution practices.

Examples:

• “To achieve optimal results from the Partnership, the best interests of both Parties are served by continual and joint Labor-Management training. The types of training that will best suit the needs of the Partnership will be determined by the Partnership Committee. The [Employer] will pay any costs for such training.” (AFGE-OPM117)
• “The Council will: As needed, utilize the expertise of individuals both within and outside the Federal Government to foster successful labor management relations, including the use of facilitators and training of [organizational] personnel and union representatives in methods of dispute resolution and cooperative methods of labor management relations.” (AFGE-OPM3)

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