Abstract
The chapters in Building More Effective Labour-Management Relationships are drawn from two training and development events jointly held by the Ontario Public Service (OPS, the major public-sector employer in Canada’s most populous province) and the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (a union that represents roughly 60,000 OPS employees). Although based on Canadian examples, the book is nevertheless broad enough to be seriously considered by those elsewhere in Canada, in the United States, and outside of North America.
In their introductory chapter, the editors recognize that “the character and tenor of the relationship between unions and management is … vitally important” (p. 3). To this end, and perhaps contentiously, the book “focuses on the labour-management relationship; specifically, on collective bargaining, cooperative approaches to the conduct of labour relations, and building more positive and constructive union-management relations” (p. 4). The desire for a more constructive and cooperative approach to labor-management relations certainly has its critics, but the chapters contained within the volume, through a combination of theory and practice, try to quell those critics by advancing a belief in, and the desirability of, integrative or “win-win” approaches to bargaining. They rely on case studies to demonstrate support for this belief.
The book is divided into three main sections: the first section provides introduction and context to changing labor-management relations; the second section provides case studies or practical advice on how to bring about this changed relationship; the final section is a bit more theoretical in nature than the second section and discusses innovations in labor-management relations.
The chapter on evolving labor relations at the CBC (a public broadcaster in Canada) and the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), co-written by the former vice president for the CBC and a senior staff representative for the CMG, reflects on the drastically changed relationship between the two parties. They identify a number of key aspects that fostered that change, including establishing fact-based discussions, letting go of the past, holding relationship-building events, and using credible third parties.
In a similar vein, former Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove asserts that “effective labour relations depends upon two things: relationships and leadership” and goes on to identify respect, transparency, taking time to know the people, and avoiding short-term gain for long-term pain as key elements of an improved and more effective working relationship (p. 84). Likewise, Warren Edmondson, the former chair of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Canadian federal equivalent of the National Labor Relations Board), notes that “cooperation requires sincerity” and adds that “the parties need to dialogue and work together to identify their issues, to understand each other’s organizations, and to set some common objectives and develop a successful game plan” (p. 102).
Though the desirability of a more cooperative approach between labor and management certainly has its critics, and in many cases for good reasons, this book makes an important contribution to a practical understanding and operation of labor-management relations. The book would be a valuable read by labor-side negotiators, business agents, staff representatives, and all activists who come into regular contact with management. Even if the ideas are eventually dismissed as being too conciliatory, the chapters will force union representatives to self-reflect on the relationships that they have with management representatives. There are many useful techniques advocated in the book that can be used to improve labor-management relations, even if the overall thrust of integrative bargaining is rejected.
Each labor-management relationship differs, and a one-size-fits-all approach to labor-management relations is not possible. Perhaps a better, more effective, and cooperative model is both desirable and possible in some instances, and perhaps it is not in others. As former Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove states, “The big lesson is that nothing ever remains that same. Change is coming, and your have a choice. Either changes will be forced on you … or you can lead that change” (p. 91).
That quote is especially important to the value of this text. The self-reflection that this book (ideally) forces on union representatives is vital, and readers will have a choice about whether or not to incorporate the evolving model of labor-management relations into their dealings with management and, if so, to what degree. There are no shortages of practical recommendations made, some of which may prompt either dramatic change or a minor change to the existing relationship, while the recommendations may reinforce the desirability of a model that is not integrative. Either way, the book is effective at prompting the discussion and self-reflection that should be important to all union representatives and should therefore be read widely.