Two prolonged strikes occurred in 1988 and in 1989. From the start the administrators were unwilling to negotiate with the union. Instead of accepting the union's right to represent the workers on the basis of signed memberships, they demanded a certification election. Union leaders were antagonized with this approach. In addition, the administration's lawyers advised them to attempt to form a parallel union of their own which would be more favorable to the administration, but the court considered this to be "union busting".