Michele was one of the union representatives that we had the pleasure of interviewing. She is the chief negotiator for adjunct faculty here on campus, and has been so since the beginning of this group. Michele faces a rather unique situation here at SIUE because part and full time faculty members are all part of one union. Also, the union for adjunct faculty is not mandatory, therefore whether you paid dues or not, you would still receive the same benefits as those who are unionized. In our interview, we got to gain insights into Michele’s thought processes she uses while getting ready for a negotiation. Michele’s explained to us some of her background in negotiations, as well some major methods she uses. These methods discussed were; preparation, relationships, opening and closings, and also many other words of wisdom that she provided us with. After talking with Michele, I could definitely see how passionate she is in negotiating and how applying that in one’s own job can make you great at what you do. One major factor of importance is preparation. She explained how you not only have to know yourself and what things you want, but you also need to know the person across the table from you (PowerPoint April 6th am). Michele represented the adjunct faculty so the way she got to know her people and their various needs was to send out surveys and emails to each of them. In these forms of communication her hopes were to find out what needs were important to them. Gathering this information allows her to form her sides BATNA, aspiration levels, and also key interests that they have. Although the information didn’t get as great of a response as hoped, it gave Michele grounds to start to prepare to accomplish the needs of the adjunct faculty. From the ideas and suggestions she received she was able to form resistance points on something that just could not be