Proactive management
Proactive management
The AFL-CIO is splintering into smaller, more aggressive segments. Here are some steps casinos can take to stay ahead of these new, more militant union
By Stephen J. Cabot, Esq. & Julius M. Steiner, Esq.
Editor's Note: This is the first in a two part series on labor management. The second part will be featured in Casino Journal's April issue.
During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, more than one third of all workers were union members. Today, union membership has dropped to less than 10 percent of the workforce. What happened?
The union movement was the driving factor behind important legislation that protected workers' rights, and created new rights. With the passage of anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and with the creation of OSHA, many workers have come to feel that unions have become superfluous.
Furthermore, as many U.S. companies found themselves in sink-or-swim competition with foreign businesses, the business environment, rather than unions, forced companies to increase their rates of productivity while improving the quality of their products. Those companies were left with little other choice but to pay workers a competitive wage and treat them with dignity and respect.
Some casinos, however, have not benefited from the diminished influence of unions. Rather, they invite union organizing efforts by mistreating their employees and by failing to pay a competitive wage.
While some unions took great effort to organize the unhappy, demoralized workers at such vulnerable companies, the AFL-CIO, under the stewardships of John Sweeney and Lane Kirkland, did not. Instead, they devoted their efforts to politics, using an ever-increasing percentage of union dues for political campaigns and PACS, and spending less and less time organizing workers.
And what did the AFL-CIO accomplish? Not much. They allied themselves with the Democratic Party during a time when it was losing both houses of Congress and the White House.
What lies ahead?
Dissident members of the AFL-CIO read the tea leaves which contained their own epitaphs: Unless they took dramatic action and created effective tactics and strategies to breathe new life into the union movement, their unions would join the extinct ranks of the dinosaurs.
The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) decided to break away from the tired, old established institution that the AFL-CIO had become. Those three unions, along with several others, are now planning numerous new organizing efforts that they hope will breathe new life into the union movement. Their efforts, however, will also shackle many casinos that must compete with others. The breakaway unions will not only be organizing non-union casinos, but they may also raid ones that are already unionized.
What should a targeted casino do? It's quite simple: if management does not prepare for an onslaught of new organizing efforts, a casino will have invited the success of militant unions which are fighting for their survival.
If they are initially successful, that success will encourage the creation of even more militant unions, which will attempt to organize more and more companies. Their tactics will be as aggressive as the law permits. Employees who had not belonged to unions will opt to join those that promise an increasingly attractive menu of benefits. And for workers who are already union members, their representatives will have no choice but to indulge in more aggressive collective bargaining tactics, just to keep up with the break-away militants.
Faced with a growing union militancy, employers must respond first by evaluating how they treat their employees. If employees feel that they are not being treated well and fairly, they will undoubtedly turn to unions. Employers must remedy such situations as rapidly as possible if they wish to remain union-free.
The following is an action plan that will help casinos satisfy their workers so that they do not feel compelled to join unions.
Fostering communication
To begin, employers must create a forum in which management and employees talk and listen to one another and resolve problems together; this will result in increased trust of management by employees. Employees will only receive management's communications credibly if open and ongoing communications exist pursuant to a specific strategic action plan. In addition to defined timetables, chosen individuals must bear specific responsibilities.
Furthermore, management must not wait until problems arise before initiating its plan. One of management's biggest mistakes is to wait until a labor problem arises to open the doors of communication. Management often decides that the appropriate time to talk with their workers is only after it is faced with negotiating a new union contract or dealing with a union organizing effort. Quite simply, that is too late. Workers naturally suspect management's motives and regard everything it says with cynical disbelief if management's actions are reactive, rather than proactive.
An ongoing strategic communications plan will ensure management's credibility. Real credibility can only be built upon a foundation of asking, listening, talking, and acting in response to employee needs and issues. Management cannot sincerely ask, listen, and talk if it is ignorant about those with whom it converses. Therefore, management should know each worker's name, job description, family background, and be familiar with each worker's performance record. Such basic knowledge implies a level of care and concern.
Employers' genuine concern for employee welfare will go a long way towards establishing trust. There are many ways of communicating concern and building trust, and each is a necessary ingredient for a successful communications action plan. We have helped management communicate its concern for employees not only by creating an "asking" program that listens to employee concerns, but also by creating a variety of cost-effective benefits, such as by providing small, short-term, interest-free loans in case of emergencies.
We have also helped companies implement regularly scheduled procedures that communicate management's goodwill and positively impact employee morale, such as sending anniversary and birthday cards to employees, paying for birthday and/or anniversary dinners for employees and their spouses, and facilitating child-care arrangements. Among other means of communicating concern are providing financial information about retirement investments, offering fitness and stress reduction classes, and having a guidance counselor offer advice to parents about college admissions and costs.
All of the above communicate management's interest and concern, and make employees feel like valued stakeholders in their companies.
Next month, we'll address steps management can take to ensure continued communication with its employees.
Stephen J. Cabot, chairman of The Cabot Institute for Labor Relations (www.cabotinstitute.com), is a nationally renowned management-labor lawyer. He is also the author of the best-selling books, Everybody Wins!, Up From Confrontation, and Stephen Cabot's Complete Guide to Labor Relations in the 21st Century. His e-mail is sjcabot@comcast.net.
Julius M. Steiner is chairman of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Department at the Philadelphia-based law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP (www.obermayer.com). Steiner's practice is dedicated exclusively to the representation of management in every phase of labor relations. His e-mail address is julius.steiner@obermayer.com
The AFL-CIO is splintering into smaller, more aggressive segments. Here are some steps casinos can take to stay ahead of these new, more militant union
By Stephen J. Cabot, Esq. & Julius M. Steiner, Esq.
Editor's Note: This is the first in a two part series on labor management. The second part will be featured in Casino Journal's April issue.
During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, more than one third of all workers were union members. Today, union membership has dropped to less than 10 percent of the workforce. What happened?
The union movement was the driving factor behind important legislation that protected workers' rights, and created new rights. With the passage of anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and with the creation of OSHA, many workers have come to feel that unions have become superfluous.
Furthermore, as many U.S. companies found themselves in sink-or-swim competition with foreign businesses, the business environment, rather than unions, forced companies to increase their rates of productivity while improving the quality of their products. Those companies were left with little other choice but to pay workers a competitive wage and treat them with dignity and respect.
Some casinos, however, have not benefited from the diminished influence of unions. Rather, they invite union organizing efforts by mistreating their employees and by failing to pay a competitive wage.
While some unions took great effort to organize the unhappy, demoralized workers at such vulnerable companies, the AFL-CIO, under the stewardships of John Sweeney and Lane Kirkland, did not. Instead, they devoted their efforts to politics, using an ever-increasing percentage of union dues for political campaigns and PACS, and spending less and less time organizing workers.
And what did the AFL-CIO accomplish? Not much. They allied themselves with the Democratic Party during a time when it was losing both houses of Congress and the White House.
What lies ahead?
Dissident members of the AFL-CIO read the tea leaves which contained their own epitaphs: Unless they took dramatic action and created effective tactics and strategies to breathe new life into the union movement, their unions would join the extinct ranks of the dinosaurs.
The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) decided to break away from the tired, old established institution that the AFL-CIO had become. Those three unions, along with several others, are now planning numerous new organizing efforts that they hope will breathe new life into the union movement. Their efforts, however, will also shackle many casinos that must compete with others. The breakaway unions will not only be organizing non-union casinos, but they may also raid ones that are already unionized.
What should a targeted casino do? It's quite simple: if management does not prepare for an onslaught of new organizing efforts, a casino will have invited the success of militant unions which are fighting for their survival.
If they are initially successful, that success will encourage the creation of even more militant unions, which will attempt to organize more and more companies. Their tactics will be as aggressive as the law permits. Employees who had not belonged to unions will opt to join those that promise an increasingly attractive menu of benefits. And for workers who are already union members, their representatives will have no choice but to indulge in more aggressive collective bargaining tactics, just to keep up with the break-away militants.
Faced with a growing union militancy, employers must respond first by evaluating how they treat their employees. If employees feel that they are not being treated well and fairly, they will undoubtedly turn to unions. Employers must remedy such situations as rapidly as possible if they wish to remain union-free.
The following is an action plan that will help casinos satisfy their workers so that they do not feel compelled to join unions.
Fostering communication
To begin, employers must create a forum in which management and employees talk and listen to one another and resolve problems together; this will result in increased trust of management by employees. Employees will only receive management's communications credibly if open and ongoing communications exist pursuant to a specific strategic action plan. In addition to defined timetables, chosen individuals must bear specific responsibilities.
Furthermore, management must not wait until problems arise before initiating its plan. One of management's biggest mistakes is to wait until a labor problem arises to open the doors of communication. Management often decides that the appropriate time to talk with their workers is only after it is faced with negotiating a new union contract or dealing with a union organizing effort. Quite simply, that is too late. Workers naturally suspect management's motives and regard everything it says with cynical disbelief if management's actions are reactive, rather than proactive.
An ongoing strategic communications plan will ensure management's credibility. Real credibility can only be built upon a foundation of asking, listening, talking, and acting in response to employee needs and issues. Management cannot sincerely ask, listen, and talk if it is ignorant about those with whom it converses. Therefore, management should know each worker's name, job description, family background, and be familiar with each worker's performance record. Such basic knowledge implies a level of care and concern.
Employers' genuine concern for employee welfare will go a long way towards establishing trust. There are many ways of communicating concern and building trust, and each is a necessary ingredient for a successful communications action plan. We have helped management communicate its concern for employees not only by creating an "asking" program that listens to employee concerns, but also by creating a variety of cost-effective benefits, such as by providing small, short-term, interest-free loans in case of emergencies.
We have also helped companies implement regularly scheduled procedures that communicate management's goodwill and positively impact employee morale, such as sending anniversary and birthday cards to employees, paying for birthday and/or anniversary dinners for employees and their spouses, and facilitating child-care arrangements. Among other means of communicating concern are providing financial information about retirement investments, offering fitness and stress reduction classes, and having a guidance counselor offer advice to parents about college admissions and costs.
All of the above communicate management's interest and concern, and make employees feel like valued stakeholders in their companies.
Next month, we'll address steps management can take to ensure continued communication with its employees.
Stephen J. Cabot, chairman of The Cabot Institute for Labor Relations (www.cabotinstitute.com), is a nationally renowned management-labor lawyer. He is also the author of the best-selling books, Everybody Wins!, Up From Confrontation, and Stephen Cabot's Complete Guide to Labor Relations in the 21st Century. His e-mail is sjcabot@comcast.net.
Julius M. Steiner is chairman of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Department at the Philadelphia-based law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP (www.obermayer.com). Steiner's practice is dedicated exclusively to the representation of management in every phase of labor relations. His e-mail address is julius.steiner@obermayer.com
