Caucus

A caucus is a group within an organization that meets to debate and decide on important issues. In the corporate world, caucuses show up most often in mediation. A mediator sits down with both parties, one side raises whatever grievance they have, and the two sides work toward a compromise that everyone can live with.

Take a group of workers pushing for better conditions, for instance. They’d raise their concerns with people higher up the chain, and eventually a decision gets made one way or another.

How does a caucus work?

During mediation, both parties first meet together with the mediator, then split off into separate caucuses to work through the issue on their own side. The mediator goes back and forth between the two groups, trying to nudge them closer together. This kind of caucusing is especially common in traditional union disputes, where talks on something like welfare insurance have stalled and neither side wants to budge first.