LABOR UPDATES

• The Biden administration set out 70 recommendations to encourage union membership in the US on Monday, including making it easier for many federal employees to join unions and eliminating barriers for union organizers to talk with workers on federal property.
• The report, compiled by the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, reiterates Biden’s robust backing of unions. “At its core,” the report says, “it is our administration’s belief that unions benefit all of us.”
• Target team members at Store 1292 in Christiansburg, VA delivered their
  petition for seniority pay to their district manager and Target CEO.
• The NLRB is receiving an average of 14 petitions/day this month, nearly double April 2021’s average of 7.6/day.
• In April 2022 the Board has seen 2 days where it received 20+ petitions, the same number as single digit days. The Board had ZERO 20+ petition days in all of 2021.
• Two union officials and a building contractor were indicted on charges of
  stealing more than $350,000 from a union welfare fund. The embezzlement from Local 148 the International Novelty Workers Union in Jersey City was conducted from 1992 to 2001 by the fund administrator and one-time president, Joseph Nardone Jr., and contractor Stanley Rothman, Monday’s indictment said. As part of the scheme, Nardone had the union pay $1,300 a month for a no-show job to a third man, Peter Hasho, president of a New York local of the International Brotherhood of Trade Unions. All three were arrested Monday and released on $50,000 bond. The charges carry up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
• Corporate campaigns continue against Sysco, Republic, Amazon, HCA,
  Starbucks, Ryder and more. Our research team has found many more.

How do we become better leaders for ourselves, our colleagues and our employees? Sometimes a person’s reaction to criticism is enough to tell what kind of leader, if any, that person really is. If that reaction is defensive or emotional, it is often viewed as negative and perceived as a poor leader. To be a a leader and find the leader within, we have to develop those skills and be aware of some fo the qualities we have by having the ability to separate ourselves from the situation and look at the picture from the outside.

Some of the basic qualities necessary of leadership include:

1. Are people asking you for your insight or opinion
2. Are people following you and how do you know if they are motivated to follow you
3. Are you open to look at different issues with a different perspective
4. Are you responding to criticism with emption or understanding
5. Are you communicating effectively and how do you know
6. What is the impact of your communication on everyone else
7. How do you influence others with the mood you may be in
8. Are you making negative judgements of others or criticizing them often
9. What attributes of others bother you
10. Are you being objective enough with the people around you
11. are you respecting the people around you and how do you know

Leadership is acquired by learning skills and also acquired by having the ability to reflect on our own actions. Laboradvisors provide the training for leaders to find these traits within themselves as well as acquire new abilities. With leadership comes respect and when there is respect, there are few conflicts that are left unresolved.

There are many disadvantages in being in the union. We will not say that all union contracts are poor, because certainly there are good contracts that have been established over the past 50 years. What we will state is that this is the minority and has not been the case in many, many years. Among the disadvantages of being in the union include:

1. No threat of being fired for refusing to pay dues
2. No possibility of a union-called strike
3. No risk of a union negotiating less for you than you have today
4. No risk of having a union ignore your concerns
5. No risk of having a union put you on trial for violating its rules
6. No possibility of a union trial board fining you money
7. No union bosses spending your money on political causes or candidates you may not support
8. No possibility of a union negotiating away things you have for things it wants
9. No union telling you that you cannot speak for yourself
10. No union having the ability to refuse to process your issues, complaints or grievances
11. No risk of your confidential issues being made public for everyone to see.
12. No risk in a high to work state when one decides not to pay dues, but then has no say on whether they approve the contract or not.

These are just some of the negatives. Becoming educated on the process is the greatest tool. All employees should be educated rather than have the preconceived theory that unions mean guaranteed more money, free healthcare plans and big pensions. This is simply not the case. 

As leaders in the field, Laboradvisors put all their focus on the client and not on the competition. The results are real as we have a record of success. Feel free to email keith@laboradvisors.com for more details.

In many circumstances, meetings with employees or town halls or whatever other nickname they are given, can become just venting sessions. This is when the the leader in you will need to take control of the meeting which is an essential part of employee engagement. The goal is to always have everyone’s input and at the same time make it meaningful, results driven and a meeting that your staff want to keep attending. There are some basic steps to take to create an environment where you maintain control, yet involve everyone.

The first step is to always ensure there is an agenda, which includes the topics and the timeframe. When your colleagues and staff know the agenda, they are more likely to stay on the agenda as well as for you to steer them back on track. The mission and purpose will help inspire the goals.

Set the ground rules for all meetings. For example, ensure everyone knows there is no interruptions while another is talking, no cell phone use, always give criticism to ideas, not people, ask for clarification if necessary, etc… Establishing respect for each other will curtail any emotional responses.

When there is complaints, ensure not to become defensive. Rather, a display of understanding and concern will simply go further. This shows your staff that you genuinely care. Show empathy and then strive for clarity and get into the specifics.

Finally, move into the solutions. Make your employees your partners in solving the problems. You will see very quickly that there are many times they have great ideas and once they are part of the solution, the problems are solved quicker. The “Team” concept is very much at play here. Once the perception is that there is a team, it will surprise you how quickly the perception changes.

Lastly, the meeting is finalized when the goals and commitment to fulfill those goals are in place. The time line should be mapped out and the follow up meeting set up.