Common use of Ground Rules Clause in Contracts

Ground Rules. ‌ 1. Each party shall select its own team members, and at each bargaining session, each team shall possess all authority necessary to propose, counter propose, and tentatively agree to proposals or counter proposals subject to final ratification by the Board or Association membership as is applicable. 2. The parties shall mutually agree on the location for all negotiation sessions. The date and time for the next session will be established mutually no later than at the end of each session. Times for bargaining sessions will be mutually agreed upon by both parties. 3. All tentative agreements shall be signed by the chief negotiator or designee for each team. Each team shall be responsible for the maintenance of such records. Either party may, if it so chooses, utilize the services of outside consultants to assist in the negotiations. 4. If the negotiations described in this section reach impasse, the procedures as set forth in the Chapter 447, Florida Statutes shall apply. At the request of both parties, a mediator may be appointed subject to PERC guidelines. Subsequent to reaching impasse the parties may mutually agree, but are not required, to continue negotiations in an effort to reach further tentative agreements. 5. There shall be two officially signed copies of any collective bargaining agreement. One copy shall be retained by the Board and one by the Union.