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The Intersection of Union Membership and Innovation

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 has changed over the past 100 years. Available innovations, strategies, and values increasingly align 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. To remain relevant, Unions often adopt more radical strategies. These include shareholder advocacy. This approach involves buying stock to increase influence within a company. Additionally, there is inter-union competition to boost a Union’s power over competitors.

For some job categories, the Union remains relevant. However, the gains it can help achieve are arguably less in magnitude than they would have been 100 years ago. At that time, labour standards did not exist or 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 invisible) 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.).

Union Membership continues to often deliver wages higher than the industry average. However, these wages often remain inadequate to cover the cost of living in many cities. More is often needed to make a livable 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

Unions respond to fewer opportunities to visibly support their members. They will often take on advocacy and lobby for 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. Many members feel their dues could be used better if deposited directly into their own bank accounts. These dues can be several hundred dollars each paycheck. The ‘best possible outcomes’ negotiated are thus arguably not a livable outcome, leaving members dissatisfied.

Policy and legislative changes advocated for at the Union level need to be evaluated carefully. This evaluation helps determine member impact. It also assesses the scope and 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). However, it 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.).

Some contracts will need to explicitly require the employer to provide access to these resources. It is in 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. They are often an entry point for Union engagement of potential members. These situations also reveal 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 struggles to deliver consistent value when a steward is not assigned to each site. This struggle occurs when committees have limited governance or accountability for delivering outcomes. It also arises when cross-department/workstream initiatives and collaboration are blocked by internal silos and closed-gate protocols. Additionally, internal leadership models that support resistance and fear hinder 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. Unions that focus solely on what external companies should do often miss opportunities for internal innovation. They are more likely to struggle with delivering measurable KPIs 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 exist. Organizational silos, barriers to sharing knowledge, and a fear-based culture are present. These factors increase the individual’s resistance to change. They also 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.’ Unions should own the best practices and KPI’s required of employers. This will encourage employers to adhere to them as well.

Similarly, if the Union Membership model is to remain relevant, it needs to continue delivering member value. It must be more open to leveraging stakeholder feedback. Best practices and key performance indicators are important. It should also consider redesigning the organizational structure and reporting relationships accordingly.

Open

Sustaining a competitive advantage requires a systems approach. It considers the business model and human resource assets. It also involves the social and strategic assets needed to support them. Check out the culture fit interactive tool!

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

Culture Fit

Biased attitudes limit stagnant worksite cultures. They prevent the incorporation of best practices, leveraging diversity, and harnessing organic opportunities. These biases also plague many Unions as an employer.

The militaristic style is used externally to disrupt workplace learned-helplessness and toxic employer/employee relationships. It 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 necessary for these Union cultures to stay relevant. Let’s assume they are in the minority. This self-reflection will help them deliver sustainable, effective, and innovative strategies, tools, and technologies for 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. However, internal targets will be much more difficult to move.

Open

Recruit with a vision of the future. Check out the article on recruitment innovation as a competitive advantage. Challenge the status quo. Build an agile mindset. And create the foundation to serve the customers of tomorrow.

Internal misalignment in values, resources, strategy, and vision exists. An outside potential-member should view this misalignment with caution and skepticism. If the Union does not ‘walk the talk’, its ability to deliver on its mission is questionable. Delivering sustainably and effectively is also 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 when it pertains to formal technical specifications like policies and procedures. It also helps with formally documented requirements such as job descriptions and performance goals for each position. However, it cannot assist when these specifications are missing.

Regulatory requirements around labour laws will largely remain owned by the city. Regional and national public sections of government will also own them. The Union can include these already required regulations in the Union Contract. However, 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. There is still more work to be done (Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors).

Innovation supported by Employers includes product and service innovations. While often pursuing a profit, these innovations 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. Employers that fail to provide these assets are unlikely to deliver sustainable value to their customers. They 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 allow Unions to connect with employees. They work 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. It can also raise the question of the Union contract’s ability to remain ethically, economically, and professionally relevant. The contract must also be strategically effective, organizationally sustainable, and competitive within an industry of other options.

Union’s are dependent on your engagement, leadership, and follow through. 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

Each ‘potential member’ (not yet signed to a Union) must carefully evaluate the Union Culture. They need to look at the approach and values cautiously. Transparency, although arguably uncommon, can make this easier to evaluate. Otherwise, speak with other sites covered by the Union. This will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses. You will gain a better understanding of the current contract achieved through Union Membership. Change is ultimately in your hands and will not proceed without your leadership.

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

[email protected]

Resource:

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