Recently we have seen significant issues and concerns regarding public-sector labor-management relations, including those in the fire and EMS community. One school of thought is to focus on ways to increase efficiency and improve the quality and delivery of services. Other more conservative initiatives have pressed for a smaller government presence and the privatization of many government responsibilities — including fire and EMS.
In the past months, we have seen many news stories on communities where there have been dramatic rifts between labor, management, elected leaders and the broader community. On the other side, we have seen successful solutions when labor and management commit to work together collaboratively to find and implement solutions that benefit all parties.
Paradoxically, collaborative service-oriented relationships have been successful in reducing the cost of services while also improving them. At the same time, they also have improved the quality of work life and changed the nature of traditional bargaining relationships.
Effective labor-management interactions require a relationship that goes beyond the norm of contract negotiations and grievance handling. Both parties need to enter into a relationship that allows them to settle problems of mutual importance that occur between bargaining rounds. In order to establish this cooperative relationship, both sides must have committed and quality leadership, mutual trust and respect, recognition of common interest, and an atmosphere that acknowledges the legitimacy of differing opinions.
While we all know cooperative relationships are difficult to initiate, they do, over time, contribute to a better quality of services received by the public and will improve employee satisfaction. Cooperation also will help to increase flexibility, which usually benefits all parties and reduces the cost per unit of service. It also can help to reduce layoffs, even as productivity and quality improve, and under the right circumstances it can provide political benefits to both management and union leaders. However, it must be noted that entering into this type of relationship entails a level of risk and requires risk-taking by both parties.
The key to effective collaborative relationships is that both parties assume responsibility for issues that traditionally are the responsibility of only one of them. In these relationships, public-sector employers need to focus more on the quality of their employees’ work lives. Meanwhile, public-sector unions must focus more on improving the quality of public services. If the parties continue to deal with what is only required by statute, it is unlikely that they will be able to deal effectively with the issues that affect either the delivery of services or the quality of work life.
If the parties truly want to move beyond the required statutory requirements, they must be willing to take on the difficult task of building relationships and maintaining mutual trust. Only when each party is willing to learn about the other’s internal culture and leadership pressures can ways be found to capitalize on the synergy created by working together. This type of collaboration may not fully address the political or ideological calls for less government and more privatization, but it does represents a potential answer to pressures of increased efficiency and improved service quality.
Stay safe, be proud of what you do and try to make a difference when you can.
Editor’s note: Parow continues his look at collaborative service relationships in the May “IAFC Insights.”
Jack Parow is the president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. The retired fire chief in Chelmsford, Mass., Parow is a 33-year veteran of the fire service.
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