Labor Relations

I have never worked with a union business agent whom I did not sincerely like as a person. That is not some mushy, HR crap, it is a fact. That does not mean that we have agreed on everything – or at times on anything at all – but, my experience suggests that effective labor-management relationships are possible. And, for HR it is imperative.

1. Unions are businesses. The perception that some business people have of unions is that they are a rabid group of sickle-carrying socialists whose life purpose is to run businesses into the ground. I will withhold political commentary and suggest that no matter what the sociopolitical drivers are for organized labor, they are themselves businesses. They have to look at increasing revenues to offset increasing expenses; they have employees; they have strategic plans; they have corporate mother-ships to whom they are accountable; they have government-mandated reporting requirements (which provides lots of public information for employers, such as Form LM-2); and, they have to provide value to their dues-paying membership. When you plan your strategies for union avoidance or negotiations, assume that unions think like businesses, because they must. (Have you ever wondered how unions negotiate contracts with their own employees? Perhaps a topic for another post).

2. Employees have the right to be represented, so get over it. I’m amazed at how quickly conversation can turn from how businesses are organized by labor unions, to how those businesses can get them decertified. Here are the facts: employees have the right under the law to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining, and they have the right to not be represented for purposes of collective bargaining. Stop wasting time, energy and “planning” around something that is entirely outside of your control! See #4, and respect your employees’ rights.

3. Labor relations is one part show, and two parts substance. Many years ago I got a call from a union business agent prior to a scheduled meeting. We discussed the facts about an issue we were going to debate (um, I mean discuss), and he ultimately agreed that there wasn’t much merit to it. But, he also told me that it was a highly emotional issue for his membership. What he asked me for was my willingness to go into the meeting with his bargaining team, allow him to yell for awhile, beat his chest, and call me names until spit flew from his mouth. After a remarkable performance, the issue died. For those of you without labor relations experience, welcome to the show.

4. Labor relations work is about building “labor relationships.” The typical starting point to these relationships is that business managers (and their representatives) are assumed to be dirty, rotten, lying, cheating, stealing, SOBs – and that’s before they ever personally meet you. It takes real work, professional integrity, and at times thick skin to develop the relationship necessary to actually get work accomplished. Effective labor relationships are those through which HR is able to work effectively to address the substance of collective bargaining issues, without getting sucked into the show. It shouldn’t be your goal to be make the union’s holiday card list, but rather to be able to negotiate agreements and resolutions without the need for outside arbitrators. That’s what your employer is paying you to do.

5. Nothing is personal unless you allow it to be. Labor relations itself is founded on the belief that labor and management have different interests – it is highly adversarial by design. Think of it this way – if union members believed that employers had their best interests in mind, union representation would be unnecessary (HINT: this might be a good union avoidance principle – just saying). Therefore, you as a representative of management will always be characterized as not having your employees’ best interests in mind, regardless of your own behaviors and actions. It’s nothing personal, it’s just the way that organized labor must operate to add value to its dues-paying membership.

6. HR is not going to build bridges between unions and management. When things go well, you will effectively resolve collective bargaining issues between unions and your employer. At other times, you will be the punching bag. At no time will you be able to fully align the interests of labor and management – it is fundamentally contrary to the protectionist role that gives unions a value (either real or perceived) for which members are willing to pay hefty dues.

7. Labor relations work is not going away. Union membership continues to decline in this country. In 2009, only 12.3% of all workers were represented by unions, and only 7.2% of workers in the private sector (Washington Times). But, if you believe that the long term decline of union representation is a sign of the demise of organized labor, you’re not paying attention to what has been happening in Washington.

I’m interested in reading what other HR-Labor pros have to say about labor relations work.