Utility Workers Union of America
AFL - CIO Local 127

Contract bargaining is a process of give and take (with each side, of course, trying to take as much as it can and give as little as possible).  Throughout negotiations, each party meets between sessions and holds caucuses—that is, meetings of its members only—during the middle of bargaining sessions.  This time is used by each side to sort through which of its proposals it needs to keep pushing for, and which of the other side’s it may be willing to agree to.  Issue by issue, the parties explore areas of compromise to see where agreement can be reached.
—Adapted from The Union Member's Complete Guide, by Michael Mauer