Labor Management Relationship Building. Overview Rights Based Approach Cooperative Approach Roles of...
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Transcript of Labor Management Relationship Building. Overview Rights Based Approach Cooperative Approach Roles of...
Labor ManagementRelationship Building
Overview
• Rights Based Approach
• Cooperative Approach
• Roles of Labor and Management
• Goals and Interests of Labor and Management
• An Effective Labor-Management Relationship
Primary Approaches to Labor Relations
• Rights Based (Compliance)
and
• Cooperative (Collaboration)
Labor Law and Labor Relations
• Labor law creates rights and obligations to be enforced and obeyed
• Labor relations concerns how people deal with people in an organized union environment
What is a Rights Based Approach?
• Enforcing statutory and contractual rights
• Doing what statute and contract require ‑nothing more and nothing less
• One side wins and one side loses
Some Advantages of Rights Based Approach
• Approach is known to the parties
• Clearly defined winners and losers
• No need to trust the other party
• May be quicker (or not)
Some Disadvantages of a Rights Based Approach
• Litigation can be costly
• Adversarial relations can lead to continued escalation of warfare between parties
• To be successful party must have high degree of skill at advocating its position
• Compliance does not improve relationship of parties
Enforcing Statutory and Contractual Obligations
• Negotiability Appeals
• Unfair Labor Practice Process
• Binding Arbitration
• Binding Impasse Resolution Process
What is a Cooperative Approach?
• Relationship based on problem solving approach
• Union participates pre‑decisionally in management decisions ‑management ultimate decision maker
• Both parties seek solutions where they both are winners
Some Advantages of Cooperation
• Uses interest based problem solving– attack the problem and not the people
• Cooperative decision-making– improves the quality of the solution– reduces problems arising during implementation
• Cooperation increases trust between the parties– leads to better communication– leads to better understanding of each side’s concerns
and better resolution of disputes
Some Disadvantages of Cooperation
• May be perceived negatively by respective constituencies of labor and management
• Can take longer and cost more to come to decision (or may only seem longer)
• Requires new skills which are different than those required in compliance environment
Key Question….
• To what extent is there a commitment to this approach from both labor and management,
or…
• Is cooperation simply doing compliance in an atmosphere where both sides speak to each other more politely or more often?
Roles of Union and Management
• Management - manages
• Union – represents employees
Management’s Goal
• Accomplish the mission of the agency.
• Manage its physical, financial and human resources effectively
• Comply with legal, regulatory & policy mandates
Union’s Goal
• Accomplish the mission of the agency
• Represent the interests of the bargaining unit employees
• Help them obtain safe and effective working conditions.
Elements of Effective Relationships
• Top Management & Union commitment
• Commitment requires understanding
• Communication & trust
• Belief that cooperation will lead to a more effective organization
Characteristics of Success
• Open & candid sharing of information
• Problems identified & solved jointly to better serve the agency’s mission
• An environment that respects & values all employees
• Agreement reached through consensus
Characteristics of Success
• Cooperation even though some may disagree on specific issues
• Patience for & commitment to a cooperative LMR for the long haul
• Shared responsibility & accountability for results
• Employee involvement in problem-solving
Summary
• Rights Based Approach
• Cooperative Approach
• Roles of Labor and Management
• Goals and Interests of Labor and Management
• An Effective Labor-Management Relationship
Questions?