Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant Communities - ILRC

Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant CommunitiesJanuary 2003meet with a lawyer before the negotiation to fill you in on the legal angle and even writea letter for you to present at the negotiation.2. Attack the problem, not the person on the other side. If necessary, accept areasonable compromise.Whenever possible, separate the problem you and your client are working on fromthe person with whom you are negotiating. Some problems are not the individualworker's fault. Moreover, you may need to negotiate with the same person another time.It is important to maintain as good a relationship as possible. Be open to looking at theproblem from the worker's viewpoint and making a reasonable compromise.Example: Lin, a community leader, is helping Victor approach themanager of his apartment building about a leaky ceiling in Victor’sapartment. They first went to the manager about the leak two months ago.Everyone knows that the manager is overwhelmed with work because hedoesn’t have any assistants and the building is old and falling apart. Atthe meeting, Lin and Victor acknowledge that the manager faces a hugetask and that the manager has been courteous to them, but they stress thatafter waiting for two months, Victor needs the leak fixed now. They showcopies of the letters they have written to both the manager and thelandlord. They finally make a deal: if the manager has not fixed theproblem in three days, Victor can fix it himself and subtract the cost fromthe next month’s rent.After the meeting Lin and Victor write a letter to the manager thankinghim for the meeting and stating the terms of their agreement.3. If someone on the other side is behaving wrongly, tell him so. If necessary,ask to speak with a supervisor.In some cases the governmental workers might clearly be breaking the rules. Ifpossible, be strong but calm and polite. Don't get personal. A good tactic is to talk aboutthe law (that is, what he is supposed to do) and ask the worker to justify his behavior inlegal terms. If necessary, ask for a supervisor.Example: Mohammed is trying to schedule a meeting to talk about youthservices for refugees at the city’s community center. Mohammed knowsthe community center is available to use for free on Tuesday evenings at6:00 P.M. Yet, when he approaches the city's community centeradministrator to reserve the room, the administrator first says Mohammedcannot use it. Then, after Mohammed shows him that the communitycenter’s brochure says community members can reserve the room, the cityworker tells Mohammed that he will have to pay $125 to use it. AlthoughMohammed would like to say, "Listen you idiot! Don't you even knowthe your own city’s requirements for using the meeting room,"App.7-A-4