A study tested a model of bargaining rite by examining procedural rituals, organized fantasies, and ritualistic language in teachers' negotiations. Specifically, it sought to identify the communicative forms that create shared consciousness, to describe shared fantasies, to illustrate the role of group fantasy in forming rhetorical visions, and to demonstrate how fantasy themes and ritualistic behaviors support the symbolic value of the bargaining rite. Two researchers observed approximately 40 hours of negotiation sessions between six members of an administrative team and six members of a teachers' team from a large, unionized, suburban school district. Four approaches of observation were used: (1) observations and detailed field notes, (2) interviews, (3) survey questionnaires, and (4) document analysis. Analysis of the data provided interesting conclusions about the rhetorical vision of collective bargaining in the district. The negotiation deviated from the model being tested, in that the ritualistic behaviors in the negotiation did not parallel the model's view of bargaining as a rite of conflict reduction. Instead, the negotiations reinforced the current authority system and communicated that traditions are sacred. The results suggested that further research is needed to determine how and why fantasy themes and rhetorical visions evolve for bargaining participants. A three-page bibliography is included. (DF)