It seems to me (and has since before I went to college) that there must be a better way to get a good deal for workers without bringing an entire segment of the economy to the brink of collapse every few years, although I don't claim to have any easy fixes.
It's a good question and one that I think any thinking person who has watched a labor dispute either upclose of from afar has wondered about. While not yet in wide use there are alternatives to traditional collective (or positional) bargaining. Specifically the model that Colorado's state workers, Douglas County school district and Southwest Airlines utilizes - interests based bargaining, or IBB.
IBB is an ongoing process and dialogue between management and their workers. IBB hopes to avoid the old scenario of a contract coming to an end, both sides staking out positions and letting the lawyers bang out an agreement through contentious negotiations. IBB tries to avoid catastrophic strikes and shutdowns while still working through the everyday issues of the workplace and the needs of both the workers and the management.
The Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service explains IBB on their website,
Known by many names and practiced in many variations and settings: Win-Win Bargaining, Mutual Gains, Principled or Interest-Based Negotiation, Interest-Based Problem Solving, Best Practice or Integrative Bargaining. No matter which variation is used, Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) may offer parties more flexibility than traditional bargaining, not locking them into predetermined issues and bargaining positions. Instead, the process begins with understanding the problem and identifying the interests that underlie each side’s issues and positions.
When everyone understands the interests and concerns that lead a person or group to take a position on an issue, they often find that some of those interests are mutual, that both sides at the table are trying to achieve the same goal, just taking different approaches. And they frequently discover that what at first appear to be competing interests are not really competing at all. Dealing with each other in this way makes it possible to generate and consider options to satisfy particular interests that may never have been considered before.
IBB isn't for every issue or every organization but as it gains credence within labor and with management you'll no doubt see its use become more common and, hopefully, a lessening of work disruptions from strikes or lockouts.
You'll often hear of a split between old unions and new unions. The old union model is based around providing services to the members, like representation in disciplanry actions. The union is there to protect workers, enforce their rights and every few years negotaite the best possible deal for the workers. In the service model, as it is called, the union is more like an insurance policy for workers.
In the new union model the focus is on workers organizing themselves and driving the direction of the organization. New unions still provide services but they seek to treat the underlying issues that lead to grievances and disputes instead of simply focusing on the individual issues as they arise. Part of the new union model is an emphasis on IBB and an ongoing dialogue between management and the employees.
It can get more complicated than that in real life but in theory that is the direction that you will see most labor organizations take in the future. It's about shifting the focus away from a management vs. labor mindset and moving towards seeing mutual interests and finding ways to partner to achieve those interests.
1 comment:
IBB sounds a lot like governing by Quaker meeting.
The trouble, of course, is that the issues upon which unions are best known for helping workers, like hourly wage amounts, are generally not win-win issues.
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