What's inside Employer Bargaining Objectives 2009?

In addition to detailed analysis of many standard contract provisions, the report focuses special attention in a number of areas, including:

• Top priorities for employers seeking bargaining concessions and key areas where employers are most willing to make concessions;
• Approaches to healthcare cost containment, including data on the prevalence of consumer directed health plans (CDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs);
• Average wage adjustments anticipated by employers in the first year of new 2009 contracts, for each subsequent year, and over the life of the contract;
• Statistics on lump-sum payments and ratification bonuses in expiring contracts and employer expectations for new contracts;
• Likelihood of employers hiring replacements in the event of a walkout or locking out workers if current contracts expire prior to reaching new agreements;
• Assessment of employers' confidence in achieving 2009 bargaining objectives;
• Employers' plans surrounding the new Medicare, Part D prescription drug benefit.

In short, the report provides a wealth of comparative information on 2009 bargaining plans to benefit labor relations professionals.