Title: Union Negotiation Views
General Information About this Item:
- Workplace folklore
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: Informant #2
- Date Collected: 2/20/2018
Informant Data:
- FO+M administrative worker, started working for the college within the last ten years. Has played a role in initiatives intended to change the workplace culture of FO+M.
Contextual Data:
- Many workers on campus are covered by a union, Local 560 of the Service Employees’ International Union. Employees hold varying opinions on what the Union’s negotiation strategy and practices should be. These beliefs tend to depend on how long an employee has worked at the college.
Item:
- There is a shared belief among a cohort of mostly older employees that the Union’s shift toward a more diplomatic negotiation strategy has weakened it. Many younger workers disagree, believing the more diplomatic approach makes for a better and more productive workplace.
Transcript:
- “I see it [rivalry between union and management]… but it’s shifted to a more healthy debate, it’s not as much adversarial. And I think some of the people who have been here a long time are used to the more old style of union negotiation, they view the way it’s currently done as not being strong enough or powerful enough… because now it’s a discussion, there are regular meetings on a weekly basis, everybody gets together over lunch, talks about the needs that are being brought up by the union and the needs that are being brought up from higher up in management… some people don’t view that diplomacy as being the right way for that relationship to be.”
Collector Comments:
This item, like the “acceptance in the workplace” item, is closely connected with the notion of “Old Dartmouth v. New Dartmouth,” a topic multiple informants touched on.
Collector’s Name: Jacob Cruger
Tags/Keywords:
- Union
- FO+M