Campaigns exist to win something. At some point the target agrees to talk, and the group must negotiate. This is a skill of its own, and many hard-fought campaigns have lost ground at the bargaining table.

Preparing to negotiate

Good negotiation begins long before the meeting. Groups should agree in advance on:

• Demands: what exactly the group is asking for.
• Priorities: which demands are essential and which could be traded.
• A bottom line: the least the group will accept.
• Roles: who speaks, who takes notes, who watches the other side's reactions.
• Who decides: negotiators usually should not accept a final deal on the spot without checking with the members.

Many groups also role-play the meeting beforehand, with one member playing the target, so negotiators can practice staying calm and on message.

Interests and alternatives

Roger Fisher and William Ury's book Getting to Yes (1981) popularized several ideas that organizers use, here in paraphrase. First, focus on interests, not positions: a position is what someone says they want; an interest is why they want it. A landlord's position might be “no rent reductions,” but his interest might be steady cash flow, which might be met another way. Second, know your BATNA, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement: what you will do if talks fail. A group whose alternative is to escalate the campaign negotiates from strength.

Organizers add a reminder: in community campaigns, power, not just clever argument, brings targets to the table. Negotiation reflects the power a group has built.

At the table

• Stick to the agreed roles and demands.
• Listen carefully for what the other side actually cares about.
• Take breaks (caucus) to discuss offers privately.
• Get specifics: what, by when, who is responsible, how will it be checked?
• Put agreements in writing, and have both sides confirm them.
• Stay calm and respectful even if the other side does not; negotiators who lose their temper often give away more than they intended.

Accountability

A promise is not a victory until it is kept. Organizers build in accountability: ways of checking that commitments are actually carried out. These include follow-up meetings on a set schedule, public reports, monitoring by members, and returning to the escalation ladder if promises are broken. An accountability session, where officials make commitments in front of hundreds of people, creates public pressure to keep them.

Declaring a win

Groups often hesitate to declare victory, worried it will seem like settling for less. But publicly claiming wins matters: it shows members their effort paid off, builds the group's reputation, and attracts new people. Organizers celebrate partial wins too, while being honest that more work remains. A target that met the demand should also see the campaign end as promised; a group that keeps attacking after a deal teaches future targets that agreeing is pointless.

Consolidating wins

After a win, organizers consolidate it:

• Monitor implementation so the agreement is actually carried out.
• Thank and recognize everyone who contributed.
• Evaluate what worked and what did not.
• Bring in new members drawn by the success.
• Choose the next issue, often a bit bigger, building on the new strength.

Saul Alinsky and others noted that an organization needs a steady flow of action to stay alive. The end of one campaign should lead naturally to the beginning of the next.

Worked example: negotiating with the landlord

After months of organizing, a tenant association has pressured its landlord, a property management company, into a meeting. Tenants want repairs to heating, plumbing and security doors, and a halt to proposed rent increases.

Preparation. The association agrees: heating and security are essential; plumbing is important; the rent freeze is a goal but could be traded for a smaller increase. Three negotiators are chosen: one speaks, one takes notes, one watches. Any final deal will go to a membership vote.

Interests, not positions. The company's position is “no rent freeze.” Through questions, the negotiators learn its interest: it has loan payments and wants predictable income. Tenants propose a modest increase in exchange for repairs within sixty days and a two-year lease guarantee. The company is interested.

BATNA. Before the meeting, the tenants agreed that if talks failed they would file a complaint with city housing inspectors and hold a press conference. Everyone at the table knows this.

Caucus. When the company offers repairs within ninety days instead of sixty, the tenants ask for a break, discuss it privately, and counter with seventy-five days and weekly progress reports. The company accepts.

In writing. The agreement is written up, with specific repairs, deadlines and a contact person.

Accountability. The association sets up a monthly check-in and a repair tracker that members update.

Declaring the win. At a celebration, tenants thank everyone and announce what was won, while being honest that rent increases were not fully stopped. Twenty new households join. The members vote on their next issue: laundry room safety.