Tough economic times call for more cooperative approaches in labor-management relations. We have common challenges before us as fire chiefs and union leaders and we can put differences aside when seeking solutions. That’s not radical; that’s rational.
There’s a place for formal negotiations; there always will be. But there are compelling reasons to form labor-management committees which can define a problem and look at ways to solve it cooperatively.
Tough economic times call for more cooperative approaches in labor-management relations. We have common challenges before us as fire chiefs and union leaders, and we can put differences aside when seeking solutions. That’s not radical; that’s rational.
There’s a place for formal negotiations; there always will be. But there are compelling reasons to form labor-management committees, which can define a problem and look at ways to solve it cooperatively.
As a union president from 1979 to 1984, I practiced the principle of cooperation with the fire chief–and we accomplished a lot. We also kept our grievances within the fire station; none of them went to arbitration during the entire 5-year period. We decided to abide by certain principles. For example, we agreed there should never be any surprises. If something was coming up, we would give each other a heads-up.
After I made chief, the city was expanding and we had to respond to the requirements of NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. We established a joint labor-management Total Quality Management (TQM) committee to address the critical issues. As a result, we added two new fire stations, two new ambulances and supportive staffing. The union chief and I managed to get everyone on board to seek common solutions that benefited the community.
When you successfully engage people in what you’re trying to accomplish, they put the issues first, rather than the individuals. There’s respect and trust. Even when trust is in short supply, the labor-management committee can help to build it.
This is true at the national level, too. Former IAFC President Chief Steve Westermann and the International Association of Fire Fighters’ General President Harold A. Schaitberger recognized cooperative opportunities to achieve common goals for their constituencies. One important result is their continued commitment to the IAFC/IAFF Labor-Management Initiative (LMI).
The LMI is a curriculum on how to develop successful labor-management cooperation. The program consists of 4 days of workshops (two 2-day sessions, separated by 6 months) that cover the roles and responsibilities of the union, fire department and local government; labor/management committees; leadership skills; organizational dynamics; best practices/change management; identifying shared goals; strengthening leadership and relationships; and public policy.
The LMI curriculum is typically delivered in one of two ways: to the leadership of both the fire department and the union within a single fire department, or regionally, in cooperation with state fire chiefs and firefighters’ associations. For a fire department to participate in the regional workshops, the fire chief and union president must attend both days of both sessions. The IAFC and IAFF can also provide facilitators for local or regional training events, such as conferences, symposiums and workshops.
Another LMI cornerstone is the LMI Conference, inaugurated in December 2008. Nearly 600 people attended, exceeding the IAFC’s and IAFF’s expectations.
Consider the many issues that will benefit from this cooperative approach: firefighter health and safety, recruitment and retention, human relations initiatives, increased public safety demands, and compliance with new and existing NFPA standards, to name a few.
I’ve found that a positive relationship between labor and management, built on trust and mutual respect, allows organizations to achieve their goals through progress on mutual objectives as well recognizing and working through areas of disagreement and conflict. There’s no problem too difficult for fire chiefs and union presidents to tackle if we focus on working toward a common goal.
