Divide and conquer. It's a timeless strategy, whether in war or in collective bargaining. Generals know its value and so do school administrators, K-12 and higher education alike. In education, when there are different unions or multiple chapters within a union representing employees on campus, savvy management negotiators often try to play the groups against each other.

And it works--sometimes. At Southwestern Illinois College (formerly Belleville Area College)--which has four separate AFT-affiliated bargaining units--administrators traditionally negotiated first with faculty, so the support staff and public safety workers often got less.

Last year, with three of the four contracts due to expire around the same time (all except the part-time support staff), the college board of trustees spread the word early that its aim was to limit raises for all groups to 3 percent per year. "We knew we were in for difficult negotiations," says faculty member Leo Welch, president of the Belleville Area College Employees Union.

Realizing that their lack of solidarity would weaken every unit, Welch and Marcia Boone, president of the support staff unit, called a joint meeting of their members to discuss negotiations. That turned into well-attended weekly meetings with updates from the leaders, and, more important, a new sense of unity among the faculty and support staff. Among the actions was an unprecedented joint strike vote. After that, large numbers of staff started wearing buttons, one of which said, "I don't want to strike but I will."

Students even organized their own protest supporting the workers in front of the college president's office, which generated lots of local press coverage. "I think the president was totally shocked by this show of student support," Welch notes. "Essentially, the board saw that [its] position was leading to a strike."

A more productive joint negotiating session followed, and the different units soon had tentative agreements in hand. As for the promised 3 percent cap on salary increases, that was old news. The support staff won raises of 6 percent the first year and 4 percent in each of the next two years, as well as a major concession on flexible work schedules.

Even though their next contract talks are two years away, Boone and Welch maintain regular contact on a range of issues that affect their different units. What's more, Boone adds, "We know we can count on each other in a pinch."