I went to the MFT negotiation session this afternoon. I arrived a few minutes after the scheduled 4:30 start time, but negotiators were still getting settled around the table. A few minutes later, Rob Panning-Miller walked in and said that MFT was going to caucus, so all of the administration negotiators and I left the room. The administrators all went to the room they typically caucus in, and closed the door.

I sat in the hallway briefly, then was approached by Levai Babaya, the State Bureau of Mediation Services mediator who has been participating in the negotiations from the start. Levai was with two other men, who were clearly colleagues, likely also with the BMS. Levai told me that MFT and the Administration had decided to stop the interest-based bargaining approach they had been using, and instead use a traditional bargaining process. He said that with the switch to traditional bargaining, my right to be in the negotiation sessions was not as clear. He talked about how traditional bargaining was somehow different under the open meeting law, but I never really understood exactly what his rationale was. However, he told me to stick around, and implied that my observation would likely be worked out.

I returned to my seat, and continued to wait. And I waited and waited. The mediators came and went from each caucus room a couple times, and Rob came out at one point and retrieved a stack of papers from his office.

After more than half an hour of waiting, a teacher came out to get a drink of water. He said hi and asked me how I was doing, and when I returned the question, he rolled his eyes and made comments about people (nodding toward the room of administrators) acting like children.

I waited some more in the hall, and eventually an administrator came out of their caucus room. He stopped to talk with me and I asked about what was happening. He said that the negotiation had returned to traditional bargaining, and that the district wanted to talk about the teacher transfer and placement piece. He said that in this case, it was up to the union to present a counter-proposal, and that they had not come to today's meeting with such a proposal, even though that had been discussed. He said that the administration negotiators were refusing to bargain until MFT presented a counter-proposal.

He also said that Rob was attempting an "end-run" around the process, by talking to Bill Green and trying to work something out. He thought that Rob's tactic was to undermine Emma and her approach.

I asked if he thought anything was going to happen that afternoon, and he said no. I'd been waiting more than hour, and I had a school function to attend, so I left.