The ongoing attack on unions, coupled with the
decades-long decline in labor’s membership, is causing labor organizations to
rethink strategy and tactic. Signs of
increasing union militancy are on the rise, from strikes among teachers and
hotel workers to a variety of community-based campaigns to raise the minimum
wage and organize workers in the digital industries. Employers, regardless of their unionization
status, need to understand the fundamentals of what motivates workers to want
unions and how mismanagement can create discontent among such workers. [A recent survey shows that nearly half of
the nonunion workers in the U.S. would vote for union representation if given
the chance to do so.] Unionized employers also need to know how to maintain
good relations with their employees and ensure that they can communicate
effectively how company management serves their interests through effective
customer service and efficient operations.
We at AIM Consulting have had extensive experience
working with employers to improve their labor-management relations and
practices. We have advised organizations
in the private and public sectors at the highest levels of management on
bargaining strategy and planning. We
have helped management understand how unions work and what motivates workers to
support unions—in the initial stages of organizing and in bargaining
campaigns. We have studied unions as institutions and examined
their finances and engaged in critical thinking about the future of labor
unions. In addition, AIM Consulting has
examined various policies and practices that make or break efforts to foster
labor-management cooperation. Parenthetically, we also have extensive knowledge of
how to design conflict resolution procedures as means of giving workers in
non-union contexts a voice in the workplace.
Conflict management should not be about suppressing disagreement or
constructive criticism but rather about channeling differences into steps for
positive change. Organizations benefit
greatly from listening to both employees and managers at all levels.    | ||||||
