Cole Labour supports unions in collective bargaining, whether it's through advanced training, research, coaching or being your voice at the table. Bill Cole has represented firefighters, police, airline pilots, health care, transit, hotel workers, as well as unionized employees in the broader public and private sectors. His work includes supporting negotiation teams with strategic considerations, including strike management, and complex group decision making. With considerable experience in essential services, he has extensive experience with the combination of collective bargaining and interest arbitration (to see more on interest arbitration check here).  ​

 

As an educator, he has worked with negotiators in both Canada and the United States, individually as clients or through programs offered by universities in Canada or Harvard's Trade Union Program. With both an extensive practical and deep theoretical knowledge of collective bargaining, whether acting as an advisor or taking on the role of negotiator, he breaks the process into small, unique stages -- each with their own strategic considerations and critical tasks. His message to union negotiators everywhere - start your preparations earlier and understand that three-quarters of collective bargaining success occurs before you get to the negotiation table. 

 

He is the co-author of The Art of Collective Bargaining, available at Thomson Reuters here. For more on collective bargaining see our Articles section.