UnionManagementRelations.com Blog

We worked with a group of skilled tradesmen this week. Several of them were on layoff and hoping to come back to work. The work we were doing with them was helping them transition to teams. Skilled trades have resisted going to teams until the bitter end. And with the near end of the domestic automotive industry in sight, they are now agreeing to play ball.

But just because they agree to participate does not always produce the gains that the organization is looking for. Rather than take the traditional route and train them in the processes that management has developed, we take a very different approach.

When the union agrees to participate in organizational change, we take management and union leadership from top to bottom offsite to create what we call Boundaries & Guidelines for implementation. Though not legally binding, the Boundaries document provides the specifics that are useful to front line employees trying to make the change work. The Boundaries & Guidelines enable workers to opt in because their own leadership had a hand in creating them.

At this particular plant, I found it very inspiring to hear the plant manager in the closing Q&A with a group of skilled tradesmen. As they were firing questions in about how they missed this, or didn’t think through that, he replied, “well, we need to work that out and get it into the Boundaries & Guidelines. We now know that if management just trained you in the new processes, you would ultimately fail. Nobody knows the jobs better than you. We’ll continue to work together to amend the document so that we continue be successful.”

Mind you, this was a group that was shooting verbal bullets at us when we walked in the door, and transformed to asking the plant manager why they were not getting what they needed to keep production moving. All these pundits in the media who think that union workers are lazy need to get up to speed on the current reality. Sure there is still some resistance, but when we implement the Boundaries & Guidelines approach, it lets employees vent, then commit to a “system” that is sustainable because of joint support.

Tough times area a test of any relationship. These are times where a union management relationship can either permanently strengthen or permanently fall apart. The news is filled with talk of the automotive bailout. Money is only part of the solution. In order to restore manufacturing jobs in the US, companies need to improve productivity. Plants where unions and management work in a collaborative fashion are showing that their productivity can beat the Asians. The trick is to spread these pockets of union-management leadership throughout the entire country.

Now more than ever do union members need to be lead, not just represented. Whereas collaborating with management used to be seen as being “in bed with management,” collaboration is viewed by members as a survival strategy.

This is all easier said than done. How do you take the first step that will lead to success? Behavioral guidelines are the only way we know set up a union management relationship so that it does not fracture under the weight of opposing viewpoints.

Union leaders and management are often seen shaking hands when they come to a labor agreement. However, when they get back to the plant, the relationship turns into us vs. them. There are many that argue this is unavoidable because of their legal responsibilities, but this is just not so. When it comes down to it, union and management are just people like you and me. When people agree to let nothing stop them in the pursuit of a common goal, anything is possible.

Pointing fingers at either union workers or management does little to help transform the organizations they work in. In truth, both sides need to simultaneously change if American manufacturing is to be competitive with the world.

The problem is that both sides often see each other as too large of a hurdle to overcome. Autocratic leaders justify acting the way they do because they say they have to deal with militant union officials. Militant union officials justify acting the way they do because they say they have to deal with autocratic company leaders.

Anytime that either side goes into the hard-line role, it forces the other side into their hard-line role. So, what is the solution? In a word … collaboration.

Both sides say they have experienced moments of true partnership, but nothing sustainable. This is why we lobby for the creation of a “behavioral contract” that provides operational boundaries and guidelines for how union and management will succeed from the top all the way down to the front lines.

Since president-elect Obama’s historic win, talk radio has been buzzing with the automotive industry. At yesterday’s meeting between president Bush and president-elect Obama, it was the most prominent topic in the news on the internet this morning.

On talk radio this morning, one caller estimated that 40% of union workers punch in and sit around not working. Obviously, this guy has not been in an automotive plant lately. Those days are over. He is living in the past.

Like any group, the automotive unions have factions. One faction that you never hear about is the new progressive union leaders. These union leaders represent both the best interest of the workers and the corporations they are working for at the same time. You hear them talking about safety, quality, productivity and cost.

The media and the public need to catch up with the fact that “their father’s union” is fading away and a new generation of union leaders is emerging with a much different tone.

Over our 30+ years of working to unite joint leadership teams for world-class results, we have developed an 8 step process for transforming the entire organization from top to bottom. They are:
1. Align joint leadership
2. Charter joint advisory group
3. Joint group creates behavioral contract
4. Align next level joint leadership
5. Role clarification session for middle layers
6. Train front line leaders of both sides
7. Train front line workers
8. Realign joint leadership

And the cycle continues. If you follow these steps and create a solid project plan, the chances that employee resistance will kill the project are almost zero. People support what they help create. AND you need a structure to control the egos involved. Behavioral guidelines is the key step. Good contract language alone will not work. Good contract language plus setting clear guidelines and boundaries through behavioral contracting is the secret formula for Union Management Success!