Re: Unions and Learning Orgs LO873

Dr. Ivan Blanco (BLANCO@BU4090.BARRY.EDU)
Fri, 21 Apr 1995 16:15:35 -0400 (EDT)

> Date: Wed, 12 Apr 95 11:39:08 EST -- LO744
> From: mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu
>
> In LO 686, Ivan Blanco wrote: "In one instance, they [HR] tried very
> unsuccessfully to control what and how much I interacted with the union
> officers (all employees in my own unit), because I 'could endanger the
> relationship between the company and the union.'"
>
> I have not had any experience in introducing LO concepts into unionized
> settings and am beginning conversations with a couple of clients who have
> active union relationships. I would be interested in hearing about such
> experiences of others on the list. What concerns have union
> representatives raised? Has the introduction of LO principles strengthened
> union-management relationships? How?
>
> Marilyn Darling
> mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu
>
In my experience, I did not have any idea about OL. It was in
1984. What I did was to get employees to know that I was genuinely
interested in what they were doing. I was not talking to them from behind
a desk, with statistics about overtime and other expenses in front of me.
I started to spend time with this guy "on the line;" as they were fixing
the airplanes. Since they worked in three shifts, I started to drop by at
any time of the day or night. It was not strange for me to shoe up at
3:00 am, and be with then until breakfast time. I learn about their jobs,
and the requirements, etc. We started many exchanges in which I would
listen to their needs and problems, they would listen to the problems of
the company, and very importantly I helped them "see" their whole role;
how they contributed not only to get the airplanes on the air (which was
very obvious to them), but the performance of the company in general.
They started to learn about costs efficiency issues, and others. After a
while, to make a long story short, these guys were willing and did reduce
their jobs classifications from 9 to 5. This represented a little bit
less over-time payments for the workers, and more efficiencies for the
company becuase planes would take a little less time on the ground for
mechanical reasons. They understood that they were contributing to make
the company better, that it would stay in business longer because it was
reducing its costs, the competitive position of the company as a result of
their contributions, etc. We did this learning together!

For me, the valuable learning experience was the change in attitude that
workers who are perceived as tough make when learning, mutual
understanding, etc. is taking place. Their faces, their conversations,
their contributions, etc. all improved!

I left the company the follwing year, and it soon went back to the old
ways. Managers made all the decisions again from behind their desks,
pretending to know better than any one else, and the company was sold to
Iberia Airlines a couple of years ago.

Ivan

***************************************************************
R. IVAN BLANCO, Ph.D. Voice 305 899-3515
Assoc. Prof. & Director Fax 305 892-6412
International Business Programs
Andreas School of Business _________E-Mail Addresses________
Barry University Bitnet: Blanco%bu4090@Barryu
Miami Shores, FL 33161-6695 Internet: Blanco@bu4090.barry.edu
<<<<< ---------------- >>>>>
"Las naciones marchan hacia el termino de su grandeza, con
el mismo paso que camina su educacion." "The nations march
toward their greatness at the same pace as their educational
systems evolve." Simon Bolivar
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