Welcome to COLE LABOUR

With almost forty years of experience, in 2023, Bill Cole created COLE LABOUR to focus exclusively on clients' needs in collective bargaining and the engagement of members through building commitment and participation. What distinguishes Bill's practice is his combination of collective bargaining experience across many sectors, for organizations of all sizes, and a scholarly interest in negotiation research and theory, and its strategic application in support of the bargaining process and demands. Bill has extensive experience in negotiation dispute resolution, including mediation, interest arbitration, final offer selection, and other process variants. He has written extensively on collective bargaining and has provided all levels of training to over a thousand negotiators in Canada and the United States. Bill has been a spokesperson in negotiations for a full range of clients in the public and private sectors. As a Senior Research Associate at Harvard's Center for Labor and a Just Economy, Bill is a frequent speaker at the annual Harvard Trade Union Program on negotiations or, more recently, on member engagement through organizational development. 

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Having once been a union president, Bill understands the relationship between union leaders and their members. Bill has a doctoral degree from the University of Western Ontario, where his research examined the relationship between union leaders and their members. Having carefully examined the causes of member disengagement, Bill's research maps out strategies for union leaders to build engagement, and in doing so, leverage and resilience. Today Bill works with union leaders in the public and private sectors on building engagement. 

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To learn more about Bill's work in union organizational development, check out his companion website at www.unionengagement.ca (under development). 

 

In his spare time Bill spends countless hours in hockey rinks watching his son, a junior level goalie, stop pucks. He claims to never criticize referees, but that is debatable (but always under his breath). He is a "sous vide" evangelist frequently making big meals in his small kitchen, and cannot pass an independent bookstore without stopping. 

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Memberships & Affiliations 

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Senior Research Associate, Harvard Center for Labor and a Just Economy

Law Society of Ontario 

International Leadership Association 

Canadian Industrial Relations Association