OSEA Chapter No. 600 Lane County Head Start
Arbitration is the thinking persons' alternative to going on strike.
If we employees cannot reach agreement at the Bargaining Table, in Negotiations, with Head Start over some issue or other, both Teams can agree to take our arguments to a neutral third party, an Arbiter, who will hear both sides of the argument and make a decision that will settle the issue.
The Arbiter is usually paid for the time it takes to hear both claims and to do whatever research, confer with colleagues, or read tea leaves, to come to a decision.
The cost can be shared by both sides, in the best case, or paid only by the "loosing" side.
The Feds have an Arbitration Bureau and so does the State of Oregon.
Head Start of Lane County is a hybrid, as it is a private, non-profit, corporation that operates only inside the State of Oregon, but most of our' funding comes from the Federal government.
During negotiations for our first contract, the attorneys from both sides asked the State Employment Relations Board if they would hear our case in the event that we needed arbitration, and the ERB agreed to do so.
And that is why we do not have to worry about going on strike, as long as we have a contract. (See Article 5, 5.3 of your Contract.)
Some would say that our contract "protects" us from going on strike. Others could say that it "forbids" us from going on strike.
I believe that negotiation, and if need be, arbitration, is a better idea.
Wilbur Gregg