Strategy #20
Labor/Management
The new millennium holds many challenges for the police profession with “people issues” taking the center stage. The skills of all involved will be tested in finding new opportunities for collaboration.
Background
There is no one formula for effective organization of labor and management in law enforcement. The make-up varies from agencies not involved in collective bargaining to those with representative groups, strong unions or contracts governing the relationship between labor and management. It is recognized that labor and management sometimes have philosophical differences and that it is necessary for them to work together to solve these differences.
Actions
- Find areas of agreement between labor and management.
- Open lines of communication with all employees.
- Meet periodically with all work groups in both formal and informal settings.
- Initiate and or strengthen systems that handle employee grievances.
- Initiate training for all supervisors and managers in inter-personal effectiveness as it relates to labor and management partnering.
- Achieve “ownership” in departmental goals and objectives by involving both labor and management in their development.
- Seek agreement with labor on the importance of traffic safety to the organization’s mission and goals.
Benefits
- Much will be accomplished by a “united” approach to mutual issues.
- Improved relations will result from open communication and employee grievances will decrease.
- Morale will improve.
- Opportunities may present themselves in negotiations and discussions.
Other Considerations
- Limitations imposed by statutes, agreements, and past practices.
- Agreement may be difficult depending upon the issue.