Q & A Table of Contents
The Shop Steward Who Spilled The Beans
From: Pieter, South Africa
Question: I am a negotiator for several employers and am dealing with a
trade union whose negotiators lied to the employees about the final wage
increase offer. A shop steward who was present in the negotiating sessions
testified to that effect. From a strategic point of view I plan to
communicate proposals and offers directly to the union members in the
collective bargaining unit. In our labor laws, bad faith is an important
issue in negotiations. Your comments please.
Response: It sounds as if the shop steward did you a big favor by admitting
that other members of his negotiating team lied to the union members about
management's offer. Frankly, if there is any issue of bad faith, I should
think it applies to the behavior of the union negotiators who told their
members the lies.
Your bottom line question is whether it is a good idea to provide 'rank and
file' members of the union honest information about the progress of the
negotiations. There are a number of considerations in my mind:
1. You should give thought to the consequences the shop steward may face
from his fellow negotiators if his admission of their lies becomes known to
them. It may be a good idea to have a private conversation with him to get
an idea of what he thinks is in his best interest, what protections he may
want or deserve, and whether he might contribute to a plan for helping the
union find more honest leadership.
2. Does the union negotiating team have hidden agendas in the way and the
content of what they communicate to their members? Are they trying to
build a political power base within or outside the union? Are they trying
to create a climate for confrontation against management by: union members,
the public, the government?
3. Outside of the word of the shop steward, have you got independent
corroboration of his story that the union representatives lied to their
members? Obviously the most useful thing would be to have an independent
party take some kind of survey of the membership to find out what
information they have received -- and whether they believe it. If it turns
out that union members are confused, that can lead to one sort of result.
If they do, indeed, learn they have been misled, what results are likely in
both the short-term and long-term? In ancient times mythology has it that
the King would kill the bringer of bad news. . .
4. Management needs to determine what kind of relationships they want to
have with union members, union negotiators/leaders, and other people who
may be concerned with the possible outcomes of your strategy. While
management may want to make certain union members are informed of the
truth, it may be that the union negotiators are not going to disappear in a
hurry. Undercutting the union negotiators may be an attractive short-term
strategy, but it may lead to serious problems with them in the future.
So- after all of these issues are considered, you may want to be very
cautious about changing the process arbitrarily. Communicating directly
with the members is a big step, and that step should not be taken without
careful thought.
Good luck. Let me know what happens.
Steve
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