Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE -- Over the years, 7,000 U.P. high school students have gone through the Mock Collective Bargaining Workshop.  The workshop took place today at MARESA High School for its 22nd year Wednesday morning.

At 17 years old, most high school juniors aren't old enough to have a job yet.  But thanks to Wednesday's collective bargaining workshop, when they do, they'll know what to look out for in a labor contract.

"Years down the line, the students will come back and say, 'Oh I used this technique' or 'I remember this from collective bargaining day'.  The community businesses are helping the students prepare for their future and that's a wonderful thing," says Sandy Meyskens, who organized the event.

Today, 35 students from four U.P. high schools came together to learn about collective bargaining from local professionals.

"Well, I've been to a lot of negotiation sessions; I've negotiated three or four contracts now, and I also understand the issues from both points of view of management and union," says Larry Linna of the City of Marquette.

The students were divided into three groups, and each group was divided into a management and labor team.  The students were given an expired labor contract, and they had to come up with a proposal for a new one.  After the students came up with their proposals, the teams started negotiating, where they learned the importance of compromise and give and take.

The hot button issue for the students--wage freezes.  They came away with a new understanding.

"It's an interesting process.  You learn that the other side may not always be looking out for your best interest, and you need to protect your rights," says student, Samantha Misale.

"I've actually learned a lot.  It's really fun to work with different people and figure out.  It could be a career path for me, and it could be a career path for many people here, so it's nice to see what you could be getting into," added fellow student, Tony Carlsson.

At the end of the day, students reported on the agreements they reached.