ORG Blog

Part 1 of 3 in an Interest-Based Leadership series

Tuesday, September 10, Tennessee U.S. Senator Bob Corker told the Associated Press that he “was a little worried” Volkswagen could become “a laughingstock in many ways” if they continued their discussions with the United Auto Workers about creating a German-style works council at their Chattanooga plant.  Likening the idea to “inflicting a wound,” Corker characterized management’s participation in the discussion as “naïve” and went on to single out the UAW as having created an “us versus them” mentality in plants.

As I put down my morning paper and pondered a labor-management divide so great that it merited intervention of the California Governor to stall a strike of the two largest unions at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, and turned my attention instead to the opening plenary session at the Florida Labor Management Conference, I was struck by the picture of stark contrasts.

Amidst the barrage of sequestration-related negativity confronting the federal sector, there are bright spots that deserve not just notice, but celebration. Take, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration which, as the largest sub-component of the Department of Transportation, helped propel DOT to the top of the list of Most Improved Large Agencies in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings. Of particular note is the fact that the agency made significant progress at a time when a majority saw their employee satisfaction levels decline. As noted on the Best Places website, “Employee satisfaction decreased in 66 percent of agencies. A few agencies, however, defied the government-wide convention, including the Department of Transportation, a large agency which raised its score a full 4.1 points.”

The following blog appeared in the January 9 edition of The Hill, a congressional newspaper that publishes daily when Congress is in session, and was also included in its Congress blog.

There is no question. If we look carefully enough at the labor/management conflict currently underway at Hostess Brands between the company and the Bakers’ Union we will see that this fight is clearly a full-blown intractable conflict.

For those of us who study these types of disputes, there are several signs that signal the presence of an intractable conflict -- i.e., humiliating dignity violations from both sides, hostile stereotyping by each side, and a merciless effort by each party to blame the other for everything that’s wrong.

All of these dynamics are now clearly at play in the conflict at Hostess Brands. Given this, there’s no doubt this dispute, at one point or another, is going to become a textbook example of an Intractable Conflict.

Tuesday’s NHL negotiation news created a momentary burst of optimism among hockey fans everywhere, and the flurry of bargaining table and backroom caucusing Wednesday only added to the excitement. Ah, perhaps Santa was planning a pre-Christmas delivery for avid hockey fans. After a frustrating loss of the first half of the season would we soon hear the sweet sounds of skates digging deep into the ice and players being hard checked into the boards?

After 3 ½ months the NFL League’s lockout of the NFLRA represented referees appears to be over.  In retrospect you have to ask yourself, “Was that trip really necessary?”  Did the solutions that the new contract contains represent nearly 17 weeks of concentrated problem solving?  Does the result represent a significant benefit to the League, the Referees, the owners, the fans and the players?

Do you hear that great sigh?  It’s one of relief that this epic presidential campaign is finally behind us.  But that doesn’t mean an end to the power struggles and strife between and among the Executive and Legislative branches.  After such a close and rancorous race, our country is more divided than ever.  This does not bode well for the impending financial crisis that the December 31 “fiscal cliff” and the January 2 sequestration are predicted to ignite.

Let's Limit the Competition to the Playing Field