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This paperexamines the process and procedure for bridging the gap between management and labor unions through a process of alignmentaround common interests. In other words, what's good for the union is also good formanagement and vice versa; management shows the union how they can benefit fromadjustments to their contract.The resulting process, called a "side letter agreement," which is a written agreement of new work practices thatthe union is willing to pilot, greatly benefits both sides.The union is happy because of job security andclearly defined new work practices, with more opportunity to learn and grow. Also, the unionmembers are compensated for additional skills and performance. Management is happybecause of a more reliable and productive workforce and reduced overall costs. The long-termcompetitive outlook looks bright when interests are aligned; everyone's on the same team andpushing in the same direction for the same goals.A multi-skilled workforce results in total productive combined operations and maintenance,putting an end to the "wait to be told what to do" or "wait for the electrician to come todisconnect the wires." Workforce flexibility and cross-functional teams use program drivenmaintenance as their strategy for success. Several case studies are discussed that used this process. The purpose of this paper is to show how moving to a new mode of labor/management relations will produce benefits to employees, the union and the leadership of the organization. Includes figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Number of Pages: 5File Size: 1 file , 230 KB