To the person who asked about yesterday’s message: I went to the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations and they had a requirement to spend a summer working in a unionized company… that’s how I came to be working on an assembly line. Aside from experiencing the habits of assembly line workers, I came away with first-hand experience of why people joined unions and that, along with the many courses I took on unions and collective bargaining, served me well throughout my HR career. At one point in that career, half of our 35,000 employees were unionized, so this was no small thing to have learned. My take-aways from that: all employees want to be treated fairly and with respect; they want straight answers from managers who listen to their concerns and recognition of the work they do. After the Mirage opened, we went 12 years without a grievance or arbitration – not because we always acquiesced, but because we were fair. Get involved with your employees to know what goes on at their level – maybe take a turn at their jobs every now and then to really understand. Putting time in like that pays dividends in many ways, not the least of which are forming bonds and building trust. Get up, walk around, and get involved with your employees today.
William Christopher (W.C.) Handy (1873 – 1958): American composer and musician who was the first to publish music in the blues form
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