Can LO Work in a Unionized Environment? LO11131

Hirsch, Eric (ERICH@gentire.com)
25 Nov 96 15:57:49 EST

Replying to LO11078 --

As to Deirdre's question of should developing a LO be a main focus of
upcoming labor negotiations, I would say a conditional yes. I labor
contract negotiations is a major focus of my work. IMHO it is necessary to
ensure that the union recognizes the importance of any culture change. If
you do not have the buy in of the local union leadership, it will be
extremely difficult to make an impactive changes to the way business is
done.

However, management must be sure that this is the direction they are
headed. If you negotiate the concept of LO into your CBA, you will have to
live by that concept. This can be both a good thing and a bad. The good is
that it force management to take the steps necessary to be a LO. However,
the negative is that if management is only giving lipservice or is not
ready to implement the changes necessary it can create havoc.

You can direct movement toward being a LO without negotiating the change.
This can be done with solid management/union relations that only comes
with trust between both parties.

Keep the Faith

Eric M. Hirsch
Erich@gentire.com

-- 

ERICH@gentire.com (Hirsch, Eric)

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>