Labor Relations Expertise

Gagen MacDonald helps companies build and manage their relationships with front-line employees to achieve desired business results…before, during and after labor negotiations. We have experience in UAW, CAW, Teamsters, Steelworkers and Machinists environments, among others.

We have two core beliefs about labor relations. First, your labor strategy must equal your business strategy to create a meaningful workplace environment. Second, connecting front line employee needs to business results is vital before, during and after labor negotiations.

Observations About Labor Relations:

Understand rational and emotional employee issues. Listen to employees and management, especially front-line supervisors, to understand the current environment – what makes people tick and what ticks them off.

Create a new story. Often, employees’ version of the “story” is based on outdated information or people’s “recollection” of how things were. And oftentimes the “story” within the operations inhibits alignment. Replacing the old story with a new one that accurately reflects the possibilities is important. Your business platform – or the “story” – should connect employee needs, business issues and the contract proposal.

Words. Actions. Words. Demonstrating that the new story is true and crucial. We believe that actions communicate your intentions. A “words-action-words” combination brings your strategy alive – and improves the credibility of leadership.

Get to front line supervisors. They are the key to engaging front line employees. But they often have varying capabilities. We involve them in building the story and help them understand their role in building a winning culture and support them in their everyday actions.

Run a Campaign. Organize resources and run a campaign to appeal to voting segments, provide information that’s believable and builds a strong relationship with represented employees.

The results speak for themselves:

A plant was able to turn around an environment characterized by serious trust issues to ratify a contract by a 2-to-1 margin, with turnout of 84 percent, and the company won its position to fund salary over pension.
A splintered workforce faced a critical vote on a Teamsters organizing attempt and turned marginal previous success into a landside success of a 3-to-1 margin. Employees voted down the Teamsters organizing effort.
An adversarial management-labor relationship threatened critical UAW contract negotiations. Sixty-three percent of employees ratified a win-win by the company and union and approved key work rule changes – enabling the company to move ahead with a $450 million capital investment in new product development.