A View From Management's Perspective
There are dozens of good reasons why management benefits from working cooperatively with labor. No one has a monopoly on creativity or problem-solving ability; each side can learn from the other, since both management and labor bring to the table a wealth of experience and knowledge.
When management and labor work side-by-side on a regular basis, lines of communication are far more open. Disagreements are less likely to occur, and if they do, they're more likely to be quickly resolved.
In the South Bay Piping Industry Labor Management Trust, we have found great value in being able to see a situation from both sides of the fence.
The Trust is no mere figurehead. Some of the largest and most successful contractors in our industry play active roles in our programs.
Since the Trust was formed, we've taken a number of progressive and successful steps:
- We continue to upgrade our training programs, which are already considered to be among the best in the nation.
- We have increased the awareness on the part of both contractors and union members as to the importance of customer service.
- We have developed communication and project-management training programs.
- We have jointly marketed to customers the importance of using contractors who employ only the best trained and most highly skilled workers.
- We have helped to keep companies and industries, and therefore jobs, in the South Bay, particularly in the high-technology industries for which our area is famous.
The bottom line is that our workers, our contractors and our community have benefited from this cooperative effort. Our union workers are continually learning new skills to allow our contractors to give our customers a better product at a competitive price.
Obviously, cooperation is a two-way street. Both parties have bought the concept that "we're in this together." We've abandoned the old "us vs. them" attitude.
Our contractors create win-win situations, and they're seizing opportunities that keep union members working and Silicon Valley companies competitive. And our contractors understand the value of cooperation. They benefit, their workers benefit and, ultimately, the customers benefit.
Efforts have been made at the federal level to encourage cooperation between labor and management, but it is progress at the local level that counts most. The South Bay Piping Industry Labor Management Trust's continued success serves as a model for the nation.
By Scott Strawbridge, Executive Vice President of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Northern California, and Co-Chairman of the Labor Management Trust's Steering Committee.
