Dan McCray is an expert in workplace negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. As Practice Leader and Director of the Labor Relations Programs, Dan is responsible for developing and teaching professional education programs in negotiations, conflict resolution, collective bargaining for professionals working for unions and employers in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
Dan has taught and facilitated dozens of management and union teams, with a particular emphasis on developing and executing an effective negotiating strategy and the skills of an effective negotiator.
Collective
Bargaining
Overview and Courses
Effective collective bargaining is increasingly critical for labor relations in today’s organizations and unions alike.
If you’re preparing to lead labor negotiations, Cornell ILR School’s Collective Bargaining certificate program will provide you with the confidence and specialized skills you need to be ready to bargain.
Relevant to both union leaders and management professionals engaged in bargaining, the courses in the program provide a comprehensive overview of the collective bargaining process, with a focus on the legal requirements of unionization and bargaining, interpreting collective bargaining agreements, preparing for bargaining, and at the table strategy and skills in a full day collective bargaining simulation.
In these live virtual courses you will have ample opportunity to practice your skills using case-based scenarios in a small group setting. Class sizes are limited to ensure full participation and mentoring in small group activities and simulations. Courses in this program consist of multiple synchronous sessions per week with assignments in between sessions. Please review the courses details below for specific meeting dates and times.
This program assumes you have had previous exposure to basic concepts in Labor Relations. For the best experience, it is recommended that you complete these courses in the order they appear.
In this course, you will learn how to identify the key legal principles and considerations involved in managing in a union environment. This includes assessing unfair labor practices and the rules regarding union organizing, collective bargaining, and day-to-day operations. You will take a deep dive into key concepts such as the basic concepts of the NLRA, differences with other labor statutes, negotiation obligations and parameters, the representation election process, and a legal framework for developing practical and effective solutions for handling labor problems.
By the end of this course, you will be able to identify possible unfair labor practices before they arise; discern the elements of good- and bad-faith bargaining; recognize when you have to negotiate with the union on mid-term bargaining changes; understand the appropriate behavior of supervisors and managers during an organizing drive; and know when employees can strike or engage in other work actions.
This course meets at the following dates and times:
- Tue, March 9, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Thu, March 11, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Tue, March 16, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Thu, March 18, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
This course is designed to instruct labor relations practitioners on how contract language and past practice may be interpreted by an arbitrator. You will review a methodology for analyzing contract language disputes and identifying key contract clauses in collective bargaining agreements. You will work on a case-study practice session in contract drafting and interpretation.
Whether administering contract language or proposing language at the bargaining table, this course is designed to provide you with a solid, practical understanding of what contract language means and how it will likely be interpreted by an arbitrator in the event of a contract language dispute. Throughout the course, you will develop a methodology for analyzing contract language disputes, understand the standards used by arbitrators in contract interpretation cases, and become familiar with key contract clauses in collective bargaining agreements. By the end of this course, you will be able to interpret and write contract language.
This course meets at the following dates and times:
- Tue, March 23, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Thu, March 25, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
Negotiation is a fundamental method for resolving conflicts and reaching agreements to solve an array of workplace problems, including negotiating collective bargaining agreements
In this course, you'll study and practice negotiation skills through a series of role plays and experiential learning. Starting with simple, one-on-one negotiations of everyday situations, you'll progress to more complex group negotiations, including informal and formal workplace negotiation situations. You'll gain insight into your own negotiation biases, weaknesses, and strengths, and build negotiation confidence and competency. Participants examine how to plan a negotiation strategy and practice the communication skills necessary to surface the underlying needs and interests driving the negotiation in order to craft agreements. Both competitive and collaborative negotiation skills are explored.
This course features pre-session access to an individual conflict-style diagnostic tool to help you understand how your tendencies in dealing with conflict can help or hinder you in successful negotiations. The course requires two dedicated days of synchronous negotiation practice, as well as individual reflection and activity offline.
This course meets on the following dates and times:
- Wed, April 7, 2021, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Wed, April 7, 2021, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET
- Thurs, April 8, 2021, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Thurs, April 8, 2021, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET
Discover the practical steps to prepare for collective bargaining. Participants will analyze the key factors that go into crafting a labor strategy and developing ambitious but realistic goals and objectives. At the end of this course, you will have a step-by-step plan on how to develop your own organization's bargaining goals and objectives.
This course meets at the following dates and times:
- Wed, April 21, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Fri, April 23, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Wed, April 28, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Fri, April 30, 2020, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
In this virtual course, you will explore how to implement your goals and objectives at the bargaining table. This includes understanding the differences between competitive and collaborative bargaining as well as at-the-table protocols, customs, and techniques unique to collective bargaining.
You will engage in a full-day collective bargaining simulation in which you will negotiate in a small group setting against experienced labor relations professionals with ample opportunity for ongoing, real-time feedback and discussion. By the time you complete this course, you will be able to engage in collective bargaining as a chief negotiator.
The virtual course consists of five 3-hour synchronous sessions and one full-day synchronous virtual collective bargaining simulation. In between sessions, participants will work in small group teams to prepare for bargaining.
This course meets on the following dates and times:
- Wed, May 5, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Fri, May 7, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Wed, May 12, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Fri, May 14, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Wed, May 19, 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET
- Fri, May 21, 2021, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm ET
How It Works
Faculty Authors
Ellen Gallin Procida is currently the Associate Director of Labor – Management Programs for Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute, ILR School. She teaches Contract Interpretation, Agreement Writing, Effective Discipline, Collective Bargaining, Arbitration Advocacy, Cross Examination and other classes.
Prior to taking on this role, Ms. Gallin Procida taught in the New York City public school system for 20 years. During that time she also worked after school for the UFT Grievance and Arbitration Department. Ellen Gallin Procida became a full time member of the UFT Grievance and Arbitration Department staff and then its Director for 8 years before retiring as of January 1, 2019. As the Director of the UFT’s Grievance Department – and the first woman to hold this important post – Ellen advocated or supervised more than 1,000 arbitrations. Ellen was the lead advocate on numerous arbitrations that had significant impact on the operation of the New York City Public School System. As part of her work in the Grievance and Arbitration Department, Ellen has been training UFT members to be arbitration advocates for more than 20 years. She helped negotiate and implement various expedited arbitration procedures and dispute resolution processes where labor management teams at various levels attempt to resolve issues as the steps prior to arbitration.
Amongst her responsibilities as Assistant to UFT President Michael Mulgrew, Ellen was a key member of the UFT Collective Bargaining team and has assisted in the planning, preparation and implementation of the AFT/Cornell Scheinman Institute Collective Bargaining Partnership since its inception.
Sally Klingel is the director of Labor-Management Relations programming for the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She specializes in the design and implementation of conflict and negotiation systems, labor-management partnerships, collective bargaining strategies, strategic planning, and leadership development. Her work with Cornell over the past 20 years has included training, consulting, and research with organizations in a variety of industries, local, state and federal government agencies, union internationals and locals, public schools and universities, and worker owned companies.
Sally Klingel holds a M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. She has authored articles, monographs and book chapters on innovations in labor-management relations and conflict methods.
Don Savelson is an Optional Service Partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department of Proskauer Rose LLP. Don handles a wide variety of labor and employment matters including EEO, labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, privacy, WARN, NLRA wage/hour, unemployment, ADA, FMLA, Workers’ Compensation, and occupational safety and health matters. Don taught at George Washington University School of Law from 1977 to 1986 while in private practice in Washington and has written and lectured widely for almost 20 years. He co-authored the first law book on OSHA in 1976, entitled “Occupational Safety and Health Law and Practice,” published by the Practising Law Institute, and is a contributor to the ABA-BNA treatise Occupational Safety and Health Law. He has been a faculty member for the Extension Division of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations since 1993. He has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Brooklyn Law School for over 20 years, teaching Workplace Privacy and Labor Arbitration classes.
Bruce R. Millman has more than 40 years of experience counseling private and public sector employers on business and personnel strategies. In addition to counseling, Bruce regularly represents clients at the collective bargaining table, in arbitration, and in administrative agency and court litigation. Bruce is a frequent lecturer on public and private sector labor and employment law matters for a wide range of professional and legal organizations, which have included the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Practising Law Institute. Bruce serves as the office managing shareholder of Littler Mendelson’s New York office. He is a member of Littler’s Publications Review and Associates Committees, the Core Group of the Wage and Hour practice group and the Business Restructuring practice group, and the subcommittees on Release Issues and WARN Issues for the Business Restructuring practice group, as well as the Traditional Labor, Healthcare, International Labor, and other practice groups. Prior to joining Littler, he was the managing partner of a boutique management labor and employment firm and a partner at another firm.
Debra Osofsky is a skilled Chief Negotiator, Attorney, and Trainer. She leads negotiating teams of all sizes and composition in structured and unstructured scenarios. She also ably represents parties in administrative and court litigation. Ms. Osofsky has demonstrated success in formulating and implementing policy, building consensus among varied stakeholders, and negotiating complex agreements within a variety of organizations. Her specialties include Complex Negotiations, Contract Drafting and Analysis, Training, Advocacy, Executive Leadership, Membership and Employee Development, Policy Development and Implementation, Team Building, Staff Supervision, Problem Solving, and Change Leadership. She teaches a variety of Labor and Employment subjects for the Scheinman Institute of Cornell University, including Labor Law, Fundamentals of Negotiation, Collective Bargaining, Interest-Based Bargaining, and Agreement Drafting. Ms. Osofsky graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Labor Relations and from Harvard Law School with a J.D.
Theodore (Ted) Bennett is currently the Director, National Labor Relations, for Kaiser Permanente, headquartered in Oakland, California. He is responsible for Labor and Employee Relations for Kaiser’s MSSA line of business. Ted has extensive experience working in the fields of Labor Relations and Employment Law, as a law partner and as a strategic legal, labor, and corporate leader responsible for all aspects of human resources within multibillion-dollar global food service, financial, consumer product, service, and industrial companies. Ted previously served as a Senior Labor and Human Resources Executive for several companies, including Nestle Foods Corporation; Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Inc.; Comerica Incorporated; Aramark; and The Compass Group.
John Herbert specializes in employment, labor, government contractor, and business law. He has held senior legal and business roles with global Fortune 50 companies in their legal and business department since the late 1970s. He currently heads up a major Northeast U.S. law firm that focuses on employment, labor, immigration, federal government contract, and E.O. 11246/375 affirmative action regulatory law. John is also a very callable labor relations and business lawyer.

Dan McCray is an expert in workplace negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. As Practice Leader and Director of the Labor Relations Programs, Dan is responsible for developing and teaching professional education programs in negotiations, conflict resolution, collective bargaining for professionals working for unions and employers in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
Dan has taught and facilitated dozens of management and union teams, with a particular emphasis on developing and executing an effective negotiating strategy and the skills of an effective negotiator.

Ellen Gallin Procida is currently the Associate Director of Labor – Management Programs for Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute, ILR School. She teaches Contract Interpretation, Agreement Writing, Effective Discipline, Collective Bargaining, Arbitration Advocacy, Cross Examination and other classes.
Prior to taking on this role, Ms. Gallin Procida taught in the New York City public school system for 20 years. During that time she also worked after school for the UFT Grievance and Arbitration Department. Ellen Gallin Procida became a full time member of the UFT Grievance and Arbitration Department staff and then its Director for 8 years before retiring as of January 1, 2019. As the Director of the UFT’s Grievance Department – and the first woman to hold this important post – Ellen advocated or supervised more than 1,000 arbitrations. Ellen was the lead advocate on numerous arbitrations that had significant impact on the operation of the New York City Public School System. As part of her work in the Grievance and Arbitration Department, Ellen has been training UFT members to be arbitration advocates for more than 20 years. She helped negotiate and implement various expedited arbitration procedures and dispute resolution processes where labor management teams at various levels attempt to resolve issues as the steps prior to arbitration.
Amongst her responsibilities as Assistant to UFT President Michael Mulgrew, Ellen was a key member of the UFT Collective Bargaining team and has assisted in the planning, preparation and implementation of the AFT/Cornell Scheinman Institute Collective Bargaining Partnership since its inception.

Sally Klingel is the director of Labor-Management Relations programming for the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She specializes in the design and implementation of conflict and negotiation systems, labor-management partnerships, collective bargaining strategies, strategic planning, and leadership development. Her work with Cornell over the past 20 years has included training, consulting, and research with organizations in a variety of industries, local, state and federal government agencies, union internationals and locals, public schools and universities, and worker owned companies.
Sally Klingel holds a M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. She has authored articles, monographs and book chapters on innovations in labor-management relations and conflict methods.

Don Savelson is an Optional Service Partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department of Proskauer Rose LLP. Don handles a wide variety of labor and employment matters including EEO, labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, privacy, WARN, NLRA wage/hour, unemployment, ADA, FMLA, Workers’ Compensation, and occupational safety and health matters. Don taught at George Washington University School of Law from 1977 to 1986 while in private practice in Washington and has written and lectured widely for almost 20 years. He co-authored the first law book on OSHA in 1976, entitled “Occupational Safety and Health Law and Practice,” published by the Practising Law Institute, and is a contributor to the ABA-BNA treatise Occupational Safety and Health Law. He has been a faculty member for the Extension Division of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations since 1993. He has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Brooklyn Law School for over 20 years, teaching Workplace Privacy and Labor Arbitration classes.

Bruce R. Millman has more than 40 years of experience counseling private and public sector employers on business and personnel strategies. In addition to counseling, Bruce regularly represents clients at the collective bargaining table, in arbitration, and in administrative agency and court litigation. Bruce is a frequent lecturer on public and private sector labor and employment law matters for a wide range of professional and legal organizations, which have included the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Practising Law Institute. Bruce serves as the office managing shareholder of Littler Mendelson’s New York office. He is a member of Littler’s Publications Review and Associates Committees, the Core Group of the Wage and Hour practice group and the Business Restructuring practice group, and the subcommittees on Release Issues and WARN Issues for the Business Restructuring practice group, as well as the Traditional Labor, Healthcare, International Labor, and other practice groups. Prior to joining Littler, he was the managing partner of a boutique management labor and employment firm and a partner at another firm.

Debra Osofsky is a skilled Chief Negotiator, Attorney, and Trainer. She leads negotiating teams of all sizes and composition in structured and unstructured scenarios. She also ably represents parties in administrative and court litigation. Ms. Osofsky has demonstrated success in formulating and implementing policy, building consensus among varied stakeholders, and negotiating complex agreements within a variety of organizations. Her specialties include Complex Negotiations, Contract Drafting and Analysis, Training, Advocacy, Executive Leadership, Membership and Employee Development, Policy Development and Implementation, Team Building, Staff Supervision, Problem Solving, and Change Leadership. She teaches a variety of Labor and Employment subjects for the Scheinman Institute of Cornell University, including Labor Law, Fundamentals of Negotiation, Collective Bargaining, Interest-Based Bargaining, and Agreement Drafting. Ms. Osofsky graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Labor Relations and from Harvard Law School with a J.D.

Theodore (Ted) Bennett is currently the Director, National Labor Relations, for Kaiser Permanente, headquartered in Oakland, California. He is responsible for Labor and Employee Relations for Kaiser’s MSSA line of business. Ted has extensive experience working in the fields of Labor Relations and Employment Law, as a law partner and as a strategic legal, labor, and corporate leader responsible for all aspects of human resources within multibillion-dollar global food service, financial, consumer product, service, and industrial companies. Ted previously served as a Senior Labor and Human Resources Executive for several companies, including Nestle Foods Corporation; Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Inc.; Comerica Incorporated; Aramark; and The Compass Group.

John Herbert specializes in employment, labor, government contractor, and business law. He has held senior legal and business roles with global Fortune 50 companies in their legal and business department since the late 1970s. He currently heads up a major Northeast U.S. law firm that focuses on employment, labor, immigration, federal government contract, and E.O. 11246/375 affirmative action regulatory law. John is also a very callable labor relations and business lawyer.
- The components of a comprehensive collective bargaining strategy
- A systematic process to prepare for bargaining
- Methods to obtain a bargaining mandate from management
- Deepened understanding of labor relations law and contract interpretation
- Negotiation skills to bargain effectively as the chief negotiator
- Competencies to be a labor relations advisor to management

Download a Brochure
Not ready to enroll but want to learn more? Download the certificate brochure to review program details.
- Collective Bargaining Certificate from Cornell ILR School
Who Should Enroll
- HR and labor relations professionals
- Managers and executives working in a union environment
- Attorneys involved in collective bargaining
- Union officials involved in collective bargaining

{Anytime, anywhere.}

$5,999
Collective Bargaining
Select Payment Method | Cost |
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$5,999 |