My minor in college was collective bargaining, and the professors there had been friends with the man behind today’s quote: they taught us to find ways for management to work together with employees, whether they were part of a union or not. I know that many companies and managers don’t have much experience with unions and thus they fear them, but it’s been my experience that working closely with labor can foster a spirit of cooperation and continuous improvement. The union leaders and shop stewards I worked with helped us find ways to improve productivity and performance; they participated with our supervisors and department heads in working out problems and finding solutions. We negotiated landmark collective bargaining agreements with them, had 20 years of labor peace, and went that whole time without any grievances or arbitrations. This all led to greater stability and profitability, which are the keys to job security. That kind of mutual self-interest helps everyone achieve their goals. Know what you really want and need, collaborate, find common ground, and make things work. Working together is always the best strategy: put that in your plans today.
Sidney Hillman (1887 – 1946): American labor leader and a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
No comments:
Post a Comment