Importance of Establishing A Collaborative Union-Management Relationship

Importance of
Establishing a
Collaborative Union-
Management Relationship
1. By: Sarah Rooney

2. 041068641
3. Labour Relations
4. February 18th, 2023
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Benefits of a Collaborative Union-Management Relationship
2.1 Example
3. How to Attain a Favourable Union Relationship
3.1 Planning a Negotiation Meeting
3.2
3.3
4. Implementation Plan
5. Conclusion
Introduction
• Our organization currently has an anti-union animus, which is the motivation to

undertake an action solely to weaken or attack a union or its members (McIntosh, 2023
• The relationship between the union and management is critical to the success of both
parties  keeping positive union relationships and engaging in beneficial and positive
bargaining will be beneficial for the employer as well (McIntosh, 2023)
• As such, this presentation will focus on why it is important to establish this positive
relationship, and how we plan to implement this into our organization
Benefits of a Collaborative Union-
Management Relationship
Maintaining a collaborative union-management relationship is beneficial for all parties, but
there are some key benefits for employers that should motivate us to maintain a positive
relationship with our union (Greer, 2018):
• Economic growth and development
• Reduction in turnover
• Enhanced motivation
• Increase in revenue
• Conflict reduction
• Employee loyalty
Example – Ford (Morganteen, 2014)
• Bill Ford claims that labour unions saved Ford from going Bankrupt in their darkest
hour
• When Ford went through a tough financial period, he sat down with the UAW
president and asked for help in avoiding bankruptcy  Ron helped shore up the books,
to which Ford says that he does not get enough credit
• Ford credited the union in helping the organization regain their foothold in the North
American market
• They helped rebalance its health-care costs and improved performance in manufacturing plants
• He also added that the UAW helped the entire industry get back onto its feet.
How to Attain Favourable Union
Relationship
Joint Training for Supervisors and Stewards (Furlong, 2017):
• Union stewards and executive team members do not stop being employees when they take
on a union role  training is an investment into the employee and the workforce
• Unionization causes these employees to become more engaged in the success of the
organization due to the fact that they are responsible for hundreds of employees/union
members
• Effective training includes :
• Resolving issues at the front line
• Skills-based training on joint problem-solving and conflict resolution
• Application of discipline
Relationship
Create a Labour-Management Committee (LMC) (Furlong, 2017):
• If the LMC does not have operating principles or guidelines, it will not be effective and could
become dysfunctional
• Collective agreement helps begin this process by defining who attends, how many from each side,
and how often the committee must meet
• Other important guidelines include:
• The agenda
• Minutes
• Problem-solving
• Reporting back
• Joint sub-committees
Relationship
Effective Communication (Furlong, 2017):
• Over-communication is important  neither side of labour relations like to be surprised
• During conflict resolution processes, ensure that there is a joint committee that can keep
each other in the loop, discuss confidentiality expectations, etc.
• For any workplace issue, joint communications should be used
• E.g. after finalizing collective agreement, both parties should communicate the changes with the
rationale behind them
• The process of joint communications ensures that the parties apply similar language to
ensure that the message is displayed in a fair and direct way
Implementation Plan
1. Set up union-management training for all members of the management team to ensure
that each person understands the importance of union-management relations and has
the tools to create a positive relationship with the union
2. Create a labour-management committee
3. Ensure that each member of the labour-management committee understands their role,
and their commitment to a positive relationship and joint communications
4. Create communication to the union about our commitment to creating a positive
relationship and handling all issues effectively
Conclusion
• It is evident that there are numerous benefits to creating a positive relationship with
our union
• Overall, they are still our employees and we want to ensure that they are having a
positive employment experience, and are dedicated to the overall organizational goals
• I have outlined the importance of creating a positive foundation for this relationship,
and provided an implementation plan
• I believe that by communicating our dedication to nurturing this relationship, we can
begin a smooth process of labour relations
References
Furlong, G. (2021, March 8). Best practices for the union-management relationship in the workplace: Queen's IRC.
Queen's University IRC | building - better - leaders. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from http://irc.queensu.ca/best-
practices-for-the-union-management-relationship-in-the-workplace/
Greer, J. (2018). The 7 top benefits of great labor relations. LinkedIn. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-top-benefits-great-labor-relations-jason
McIntosh, I. (2023). “Module 3: Best Practices in Effective Union-Management Relations.” Algonquin College.
Morganteen, jeff. (2014, March 27). Labor unions saved Ford in our 'darkest' Hour: Bill Ford. CNBC. Retrieved
February 20, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/27/labor-unions-saved-ford-in-our-darkest-hour-bill-ford.html

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Importance of

1. By: Sarah Rooney

• Our organization currently has an anti-union animus, which is the motivation to

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