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Let The Contract Be Your Guide
One of the first things I tell new administrators is to read the contract. Sometimes called the agreement, or “the bible”, this is what will guide the decisions you make about hiring, overtime, discipline, evaluations, leaves, and other issues related to the work being done in your new role. What you want to read with an eye for is what is emphasized in the contract. That tells a story about where the organization has been. The truth is, most agreements and contract language is the same, be fair in your hiring process, overtime by seniority, get approval prior to taking days off, etc. I have worked under, bargained and interpreted 12 different contracts in various districts around California and have advised on more through friends locked in a stalemate with employees.
The term “collective bargaining” was first used in 1891 by Beatrice Webb, a founder in the field of industrial relations in Britain. At the time she referred to collective negotiations and agreements that had existed since the rise of trade unions during the 18th Century. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 made it illegal for any employer to deny union rights to an employee. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued and executive order granting federal employees the right to unionize. The National Labor Relations Act also made it illegal for employers to discriminate, spy on, harass, or terminate employment of workers because of their union membership or to retaliate against them for engaging in organizing campaigns or other “concerted activities”. It is also illegal for companies to form their own internal unions or to require any employee to join a union as a condition of employment.
The contract usually protects both sides, labor and management. If processes are followed and mistakes are corrected using the contract, most, if not all issues can be resolved by the people closest to the problem. It’s when people don’t follow the contract and refuse to hear the other side that problems happen. Now, no document is perfect, no document covers every possible situation that might arise. When this happens, you negotiate it. When in doubt, bring it up and talk about it. It’s when an individual makes decisions that impact others without their input that issues arise. The government argued it in the 1700’s while forming this nation, they referred to it as taxation without representation. It’s illegal in the US and is an unfair labor practice at work.
I’ll be the first to tell you that at first you will feel like you are giving up your power as a leader, I will also tell you that the voice saying it is your ego. The further you go from collective bargaining, the closer you slide towards a dictatorship. It isn’t your fault, it’s something that just happens when power shifts from the center, to one direction or the other. If power shifts too far toward labor, you get anarchy.
Stanford Professor, Phillip Zimbardo, conducted an experiment in 1971 that he called the prison experiment. He took student volunteers, divided them into two groups at random, and assigned one group guards and the other group prisoners. The group that was assigned the power became mean, and treated the prisoners in unbelievably cruel ways, despite of the fact that they knew they were all student volunteers. The experiment had to be cut short because the prisoners were beginning to break down emotionally. Power and powerful roles cause behavior shifts that are harmful if unchecked. Hence, the formation of labor unions and collective bargaining.
At your workplace, most of the processes are in place, most of the roles that people fill and chains of command are already established, you just have to read the contract. Also, over the first 6 to 12 months, commit to talking to members of your team to find out the spirit of the contract, what were we trying to accomplish when negotiating articles. How are decisions made? What do you really like about what we do, and what should we stop doing? Learn all you can about the people, processes and procedures prior to taking the reins yourself. Leaders who come from within the organization have an advantage, in that they know people and usually have some familiarity with the organization. Leaders who come from the outside have the advantage in that they have not burned anyone on their ascent to leadership, but they have the most learning to do.
The biggest problems you will run into as a leader will be related to your unfamiliarity with the contract language, even worse is the resistance to follow what you know to be in the contract. The union and the district negotiated terms in the contract and have specific language to guide the way things are done. If that language no longer works, take it to the table and negotiate a change, taking it into your own hands will cause problems and compromise you as a leader in the eyes of your team. If you can manage your team using contract language, you protect yourself form avoidable issues which will create time for you to solve problems, improve morale and innovate. Always keep in mind that the contract protects both sides, stay within contract language and you’re good. Further, you demonstrate to your people that you are committed to doing the right thing which builds you up as a leader. It takes time and patience but if you invest in it, you will SOAR!
William A. Brown
September 1, 2019
https://www.nlrb.gov/how-we-work/national-labor-relations-act
