Ground Rules for Meetings

1. There will be no personal attacks.
2. There will be one and only one conversation.
3. All agreements will be reached by consensus.
4. A consensus reached cannot be changed by disagreement of someone
   absent at the meeting in which the consensus was reached.
5. Organizational “hats of authority” must be checked at the door.
6. Team members will not sit in the same seat or next to the same person two sessions in a row.
7. Management will not sit on one side of the table and the union on the other.
8. There is no ownership of ideas.
9. Breaks will be taken as necessary.
10. There shall be no designated spokesperson.
11. Process concerns should be raised when they occur.
12. Freedom to express ideas without criticism is required.
13. Evaluation and revision follow the idea generation stage.
14. Full participation by all members is necessary.
15. Probing the link between interest and options is important.
16. At the end of each session, check on the need to “sum up before standing up.”
17. Nothing stated in meetings or minutes can be used by either party in a grievance hearing or any other legal procedure.
18. Decisions or projects coming out of the committee belong to the committee
    and not to either labor or management.