Unionization: An Overview

WSA Member, Ron Lichtenstein, offers 30+ years of experience as a sweeping contractor in the Boston area. However, before that he spent over 10 years working in management as an economic development officer at Conrail, a heavily unionized class one railroad operating in the Northeast.

 

Ron provided the following as an overview on how a partnership with a union should be viewed and, then, organized. He covers the expectations all parties should have in a union shop and stresses the plus/minus factors unionization offers.

 

 

The rail industry is probably one of the oldest union shops in the country. The rails unionized as an outgrowth to the barbaric work conditions that existed in the early 1900’s. Unions are not bad per-say; rather, it is their work rules and grievance process that will stifle any business. That ultimate division of labor can kill productivity.

 

In today’s brutal business environment all unions know they have to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. The enlightened unions fully understand they are in the same boat as management employees: if the boat sinks we are all going into the water together. What I saw as the main key to working with a union’s successfully was creating a team-friendly  workplace.

 

Treating people/customers with respect, stressing teamwork, sharing company performance goals, offering ongoing training, working smarter, asking for employee opinions and suggestions and, lastly, trust but verify.

 

The other key lies in the beginning job requirements and duties; i.e., who does what and when. This is paramount because every grievance filed eats up employee and management time and costs the company money in the end. You can’t bark orders in a union environment, not if you want to get anything accomplished.

 

Remember the union has strict working rules covering, among other items, how, when and where jobs are to be performed.  Process and jobs need to be explained clearly; questions asked and answered; and, people need to know they will be held accountable. 

 

The department that was in at Conrail had no direct authority over any rank and file employees; however, to be successful at my job I had to get buy-in and follow-through from them. Examples where this occurred was in creating engineering plans, real estate leases, consistent freight car delivery, or when we got a tip about an empty building/land that could accommodate a new customer or keep an old one.

 

It also could be a heads-up that a deadline was going to be missed or a big problem was going to blow up in my face or theirs. The unions soon realized that teamwork worked both ways. Remember: these guys had no requirement to work with me at all. Talk about the blind leading the blind!

 

In the end, after a couple years, New England rose to first place in new railroad business out of Conrail’s 16 state and two country operating territory. It was a joint effort with the union. Although on this score we had nothing in writing, we did develop an informal working relationship that became part of a company quality initiative. I made sure that everyone was on the same page; no railroad in New England, no jobs.

 

The solution was simple;  no drinking or drugs on the job or you’re gone, period. Safety is job one to ensure everyone goes home at night in one piece. Don’t bullshit me, this isn’t my first rodeo.  Teamwork protects jobs, yours and mine. Speak truth to power — management must walk the talk, treat people as you would like to be treated, and lastly,  everyone must just do their job.