Union Membership: Supporting Innovation

By Business, Business Model, Customers, Disruption, Innovation, Leadership, Legacy Businesses, Nonprofits, Strategy

Article Contents

  • Union Membership Gains
  • Union Membership Benefits: Hygiene Factors & Self-Actualization Needs as a Criterion for Success
  • Trickle Down Theory
  • Highlights: Canadian Labour Timeline
  • Stagnant Innovation
  • Leading Internal & External Innovation
  • Highlights: Employer Innovations
  • Innovation Culture Fit
  • Evaluating the Union Model for Relevance & Sustainability
  • Entry Points for Unionization
  • Next Steps

The focus of Union Membership over the past 100 years has evolved as available innovations, strategies, and values increasingly aligned with socially progressive ideas.  With advances in legislation and regulations, many employers struggle to achieve these socially progressive norms. Innovation and business model modifications often result, albeit slowly. Proactive advocacy and lobbying of these progressive values have helped move these business models forward into the 21st Century. 

When invited to join a Union, the potential new member should evaluate:

  • What Basic Needs (Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors) are supported by the Union contract? Which ones are missing?
  • What Self-Actualization Needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) are supported by the Employer’s updated services/resources? Which ones are already provided? Which ones are missing?

Measuring Member Benefits

The original pain points addressed through Union Membership and Bargaining have changed over time. The pains experienced by current members would have been considered a luxury 100 years ago. In order to remain relevant Union’s often take on more radical strategies such as shareholder advocacy (buying stock to increase influence within a given company) and inter-union competition (in order to increase a given Union’s power but not the competitions).

For some job categories, the Union remains relevant although the gains it can help achieve are arguably less in magnitude than they would have been 100 years ago (when labour standards did not exist/were inadequately regulated).

Advantages

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Union (source: Unifor)

  • Better Working Conditions
  • Money
  • Benefits
  • Retirement
  • Clear Expectations
  • Protection
  • Union Training
  • Fair Layoff Practices
  • Grievance Procedures
  • Combined Voice

Diminishing Gains

Unions are, as a result, under increasing pressure to deliver incremental (and often nonvisible) gains in an environment that already benefits from the activity of organized labour over the past century (civil rights, human rights, workplace rights, employment regulation, safety regulations, benefits, scheduling, etc.).

Although Union Membership continues to often deliver wages higher than the industry average they often remain inadequate to cover the cost of living for many cities. More is often needed to make a liveable wage in a job that is meaningful.

Disadvantages

Joining a Union also has Disadvantages (CareerTrend)

  • Membership Dues & Fees
  • Lose Ability to Negotiate Wages & Benefits Oneself
  • Not Free to Decide Yourself if You Want to Strike
  • Can Pit Staff Against One Another
  • Adversarial Relationships with Employer
  • Required to Join to Gain Employment on Unionized Site

Trickle Down Theory

Responding to fewer opportunities to visibly support their members, Unions will often take on advocacy and lobbying socially progressive legislation that falls outside the workplace. Although these pursuits are proposed as ‘supporting our members’ as well, the ‘trickle-down theory’ has been disproved in many instances.

On average, when the benefits do trickle-down not everyone gains, leaving many of members feeling that their dues (which can be several hundred dollars a paycheck) would be better used if deposited directly into their own bank accounts. The ‘best possible outcomes’ negotiated are thus arguably not a liveable outcome, leaving members dissatisfied.

Policy and legislative changes advocated for at the Union level need to be evaluated carefully to determine member impact, the scope of that impact, and the sustainability of that impact. Chosen wisely, out of scope lobbying and advocacy can arguably (and eventually) benefit all members. Union membership may also be helpful if an employer remains non-compliant with these local, regional, and national regulations.

Highlights: Canadian Labour History

Union Membership
Union Membership
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Stagnant Innovation

Union Membership Organizing has benefited the innovations of industry (digital, process, technological, and strategy) but continues to often lag behind in their application. In some respects, this arguably results from the context, membership characteristics, and geographical constraints of the Union’s territory. But where one constraint exists (digital access/familiarity with computing) another opportunity surfaces (easier access, content management, and on-time communications).

Union Membership and the Innovation Stack. Areas to Improve.

The ‘benefit-based’ infrastructure & tools available to the Union Membership represents only a small proportion of what new members require in order to have immediate support (computer, internet, f2f site support/access, time, etc.) and ongoing success in the workplace (training, education, tools, supplies, materials, coaching, etc.).

Although some contracts will need to explicitly require the employer to provide access to these resources it is the employer’s interest to do so voluntarily (and proactively).

Crisis and exceptional deviations from the norm often help identify what scenarios are not being adequately addressed (and often an entry point for Union engagement of potential members) and which employers are more proactive at providing safe and meaningful work.

An Integrated Approach:

Open

Innovation requires a systemic and integrative approach. Checkout the Innovation Stack Assessment Framework available through Innovate Vancouver.

  • Increase or Decreases in Demand
  • Increases or Decreases in Risks
  • Increases or Decreases in Errors
  • Increases or Decreases in Supply/Procurement
  • Increases or Decreases in Competition/ or Change

But having limited resources is not restricted to employers. Union’s struggle to deliver consistent value when a steward is not assigned to (or working directly at) each site; when committees have limited governance or accountability for delivering outcomes; when cross-department/workstream initiatives and collaboration are blocked by internal silos and closed-gate protocols; or when internal leadership models support resistance, fear, and avoid internal change initiatives.

Espoused vs. Held Beliefs

The need for Unions is arguably relevant as ever, yet the benefits are often considered harder to measure. Leadership is needed both externally and internally. The Unions that emphasize what external companies should do, but often miss opportunities for internal innovation and advancement, are more likely to struggle on delivering measurable KPI’s than Unions that are more innovative.

Unfortunately, discrepancies do exist between espoused (stated) and held (actual) values in some Union environments. The behaviours and resources missing in the targeted employer may also be unavailable to Union staff. Union-style militaristic hierarchies, organizational silos, barriers to sharing knowledge and organizational learning, and the resulting fear basic culture have been observed to increase the individual resistance to change and decrease the organizational unit’s receptiveness to incorporating best practices.

Leading Internal & External Innovation

In order to maintain their relevance, Unions need to ‘walk the talk’ and ‘follow what you preach.’ Owning the best practices and KPI’s required of employers will go a long way towards requiring employers to own them as well.

Similarly, if the Union Membership model is to remain relevant and continue to deliver member value it needs to be more open to leveraging stakeholder feedback, best practices, key performance indicators, and redesigning the organizational structure (and reporting relationships) accordingly.

Open

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The Union that uses the same external tactics deployed to organize is ill-suited for internal organization, alignment, and value creation. In fact, these same tactics will create fear, reinforce silos, and mitigate the Union’s ability to deliver values to its members.

Culture Fit

The biased attitudes that limits stagnant worksite cultures from incorporating best practices, leveraging diversity, and harnessing organic opportunities also plagues many Unions as an employer.

The militaristic style used externally to disrupt workplace learned-helplessness (and toxic employer/employee relationships) can also be turned internally through territorial disputes, political squabbling, strategic resistance, and bullying. The result is the same learned-helplessness and toxic cultures that the Union is supposed to be fighting externally. This culture can transfer across physical and geographical boundaries.

Self-reflection is needed if these Union cultures (let’s assume they are in the minority) are to remain relevant and able to deliver sustainable, effective, & innovative strategies, tools, and technologies to the benefit of their members.

Evaluating Union Models for Relevance & Sustainability

Innovation often results from disruption. The industry adapts to changing circumstances in order to remain both relevant and profitable. Unions and the Nonprofit Sector are no different. They can help lead social innovation externally and internally while recognizing that internal targets will be much more difficult to move.

Open

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Internal misalignment (both in values and resources, strategy, and vision), when viewed from an outside potential-member, should be rightfully perceived with caution and skepticism. If the Union does not ‘walk the talk’ then its ability to deliver on its mission sustainably and effectively is arguable.

Checklist

When considering joining the Union Membership, or Unionizing a worksite, consider the following:

Union Membership
Union Membership
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Technical leadership is owned by the employer. Technical performance is supposed to be supported by ongoing training, coaching, leadership, and appropriate tooling/technology by the employer. A Union can help address training, coaching, and leadership as it pertains to formal technical specifications (policies, procedures) and formally documented requirements (job descriptions, performance goals) for each position but not when these specifications are missing.

Regulatory requirements around labour laws and diversity will largely remain owned by the city, regional, and national public sections of government. The Union can include these already required regulations in the Union Contract, but if workers want new rights or protocols to be recognized these will need to be added ‘from scratch.’ It is these latter advancements (new worker rights, human rights, economic rights, benefits, etc.) that are being supported ‘out of scope’ by Innovative Unions. Union’s can also provide assistance required when existing regulations are being implemented ineffectively by an employer.

Meeting Member’s Needs

Innovations supported by the Union Membership have been noteworthy over the past 100 years, with more work to be done (Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors).

Innovation supported by Employers includes product and service innovations that, while often pursuing a profit, can be argued to deliver directly to the upper tiers of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

Unions have often walked at the front of the line when championing rights and employer responsibilities. The relationship with the employer depends on the company to deliver an effective, sustainable, and ethical business model.

Entry Points for Unionization

Unionization can help hold employers compliant with local, regional, and national regulations. Job specifications need to align with the process, tools, resources, and supports provided to each employee. Employer’s that fail to provide these assets are unlikely to deliver sustainable value to their customers and will remain vulnerable to worksite unionization until they improve their business model.

Employee performance and satisfaction rates understandably suffer when worksite processes, tools, resources, and training are misaligned with customer goals. These vulnerabilities create an entry point for Unions to create a relationship with employees in order to improve the employee-employer relationship and worksite conditions.

Open

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Unfortunately, the basic hygiene factors (salary, benefits, OH&S, diversity management, etc.) targeted within Union contracts are not enough to create a competitive business model, ensure each employee’s work experience is meaningful, or guarantee the products/services delivered to the customer will remain effective. Innovation’s best practices need to be owned & integrated by both the Union and the Employer if the workplace is to remain sustainably competitive. Empty leadership is not enough.

  • Does the Union contract support or limit Innovation?
  • Does the Union contract support or limit performance alignment?
  • Does the Union contract support or limit agility and responding to environmental changes?

Next Steps

Union Membership Innovation is both external and internal. Misalignment can not only indicate incongruent values, goals, and competencies but also raise the question of the Union contract’s ability to remain ethically, economically, and professionally relevant, strategically effective, organizationally sustainable, and competitive within an industry of other options.

Union’s are dependent on your engagement, leadership, and followthrough. Without it, the Union’s services will under-deliver if not miss their target completely.

  • Which Needs (Hygiene Factors & Self-Actualization Needs) are Currently Missing
  • What are the Steps to Close the Gap
  • Is a Union needed to Close that Gap
  • If not, How will this Gap be Closed Internally

It is up to each ‘potential member’ (not yet signed to a Union) to evaluate the Union Culture, approach, and values cautiously. Transparency, although arguably uncommon, can make this easier to evaluate. Otherwise, talk with other sites covered by the Union to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current contract achieved through Union Membership. Change is ultimately in your hands and will not proceed without your leadership.

Check out the interactive article, Knowledge Management in Sharepoint!

ENTER

Innovate Vancouver is a Technology and Business Innovation Consulting Services located in Vancouver, BC. Contact Innovate Vancouver to help on your next project!

Travis Barker MPA GCPM

Innovate Vancouver

Consulting@innovatevancouver.org

Resource:

Bradbury, A., Brenner, M., & Slaughter, J. (2016). Secrets of a successful organizer. Brooklyn, NY: Labor Notes.

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