Once management is put on notice that union members have the will and power to strike, if necessary, it often helps convince management to negotiate seriously at the bargaining table, and to look for real solutions to the issues raised. The union comes to the bargaining table knowing what workers want and need, partly because the union's leaders come out of the same workforce or a similar situation, and key leaders are elected by the workers they represent. From their first-hand experience helping members under the old contract, union leaders have seen what works well and should be continued, what needs to be improved, and what new needs have arisen that the old contract didn't anticipate. They also have the resources to look at the entire economy, and evaluate the trends that can be expected for the future. Union bargainers also get direct input from members.
Many local unions survey the members as they prepare to sit down at the bargaining table.
Over the past months workers also debated and approved specific bargaining resolutions at their local unions and council meetings, and then sent those proposals to union headquarters in Detroit, known as Solidarity House. Working with UAW staff and leadership, a Resolutions Committee of local union leaders from each of the union's 12 regions helped unify many of those proposals into the single comprehensive resolution that delegates passed in March. Often the proposals must balance conflicting desires of different groups of workers. For example, pension increases are usually important to older workers, while younger workers might be interested in negotiating more time to be with their families. A key step in the UAW bargaining program is the Collective Bargaining Convention, where union delegates consider the Big Picture.