Florabunda, a National Wholesale Plant Supply Company That Caters to Home

Florabunda, a national wholesale plant supply company that caters to home gardeners, maintains greenhouses in several locations. These provide flower and vegetable seedlings for nurseries and garden centres nationwide and also pots of flowering plants, such as tulips and poinsettias, for other holidays. Relations with employees seemed smooth for some years, but over time the firm has come to rely on short-term contingent labour, especially in the spring when Florabunda fulfills large standing orders for bedding plants. At one of its largest greenhouse locations, employees invite the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to represent them as a union. The Florabunda greenhouse engages in collective bargaining with the UFCW. A key issue involves workplace safety, as the greenhouses are often fumigated with pesticides to kill insects. Management claims that it takes customary and effective precautions to protect the health of its workers, whereas the union expresses concerns that the pesticides might cause long-term health problems. While bargaining over the workplace safety issue, which of the following strategies would be most beneficial in keeping the process moving ahead in good faith?

A) Be aware that each side needs to show that it has obtained important concessions
B) Be as flexible as possible with the objectives behind each bargaining move
C) Warn that if the conflict is not resolved, each side is prepared to stage a strike or lockout
D) Begin by making extravagant demands, which the other side is not expected to accept
E) Try to come to agreement on points of conflict as quickly as possible