Who gets to decide whether a labor relations outcome between management and labor is successful or a disaster? Overland Resource Group, that's who.
The Kansas City-based labor-management consulting firm has issued its "Best Of/Worst Of" labor outcomes for 2013. These are, we are told, "based on criteria such as measurable positive outcomes or negative impacts, innovative or antiquated approaches, and leadership vision."
Now that we know the rules behind the selections, here are the winners, at least in Overland's view:
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No. 1: CSX Transportation and its four unions, for the agreement they forged "that sets new standards of quality and productivity, and guarantees job security for the term of the agreement."
No. 2: The Federal Aviation Administration and its unions were determined to improve their terrible employee satisfaction rankings. They developed a plan that "moved the agency from near bottom ratings on employee satisfaction to the top third in the Best Places to Work survey." Way to go you flyboys!
No. 3: Several patient care quality projects were initiated by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 in partnership with its hospital management teams in the Northeast.
And now, the "losers":
No. 1: The Big Fail goes to Boeing and the International Association of Machinists, whose botched efforts to sign a new contract "led to a threatened relocation of the 777x airplane production."
No. 2: San Francisco Bay Area commuters suffered because the Bay Area Rapid Transit and its unions couldn't work out a series of conflicts that led to two strikes in 2013.
No. 3: While the SEIU in the Northeast sparkled in labor relations, its brethren and sistern in California get the booby prize for "infighting between SEIU-United Healthcare Workers-West and the National Union of Healthcare Workers-California Nurses Association," which, Overland said, "bodes ill for upcoming healthcare challenges."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
