December 21, 2023 — When management isn’t at the labor/management table, things at your agency can take a turn for the worse. And even when they are there, managers may not fully understand the implications of changes in the workplace.
At the Labor/Management Advisory Council meeting on December 8 in Albany, attendees heard legislative updates, learned about working with multiple generations on an L/M team, and discussed how to organize campaigns around an L/M topic.
“We are in times that are very difficult,” said PEF Vice President Darlene Williams. “You sit at the L/M table, and you think the people across from you understand. Maybe they don’t.” She emphasized the need to communicate so management knows what is going on and how it is impacting your agency.
“At the DOL (Department of Labor), where management did not sit at the table, they implemented AI (Artificial Intelligence) and now it’s a problem,” she said. “PEF worked hard at the contract table to discuss the best way to bring AI into L/M so changes wouldn’t be sprung on people.”
For DOL, leaving labor out of the equation led to claims being processed by machines, not highly skilled PEF members.
“That leads to loss of jobs,” Williams said. “We don’t need AI doing our jobs.”
Organizing around L/M
The strength of PEF lies in the hands of its members, which is why those members need a roadmap to empower them in the face of professional and personal challenges.
“The public sector has seen significant shifts in staffing, policy, and work culture,” said PEF Director of Organizing Dan Carpenter. “In this landscape, staying informed, connected, and proactive is not just beneficial – it’s essential.”
Carpenter outlined multiple ways to face labor/management issues head on, including: awareness and education; data collection and documentation; storytelling and testimonial sharing; active participation in union activities; continuing advocacy and lobbying; solidarity and collective action; media engagement; and continuous feedback.
“We cannot underestimate the power of knowledge,” he said. “It’s the foundation on which we build our strategies and actions. But knowledge is not enough, which is why our second step involves data collection and documentation.”
Gathering data allows for a compelling, fact-based narrative to bring to the table. So does storytelling and testimonials, which put a human face on issues and remind us of the real-life implications of policy and management decisions.
“Our union is only as strong as the involvement and commitment of its members,” Carpenter said. “Regular meetings, volunteering for committees, and participating in the process are all good ways to contribute to and shape the future. Lobbying and advocacy and solidarity and collective action are some of our greatest strengths.”
Media engagement and soliciting continuous feedback are also key strategies to achieving union goals and getting things done.
“We can leverage social media platforms to share stories and amplify our voice with the public,” he said. “Using designated hashtags, we can unify our message and increase visibility.”
Members can email stories to Communicator@pef.org; post comments on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PublicEmployeesFederation), which remain hidden from the public; or visit www.pef.org/toxictales to get involved in PEF’s ongoing toxic workplace campaign.
Multiple generations
Spread across the walls of the meeting room were signs listing generations – meeting attendees were asked to put a sticker on the poster that corresponded with their generation.
It was a dynamic bunch.
“We live in a time in which you may be working beside someone from a different generation than yourself,” said PEF Training Specialist Tammy Carney. “Some people are remaining in the workforce longer, so we have more generations working alongside each other.”
Carney said each generation brings its own strengths and weaknesses to union work. Members of the “silent” generation, born between 1928 to 1945, value patience and rules, stay married for life, work one job throughout their career and have a pension.
That’s less common for today’s generation.
Generation Z has strong connections to the world thanks to social media and the instantaneous nature of information; they are highly educated but enter the workforce in debt; and they are often entrepreneurial and independent.
These life experiences mean different preferences in the workplace.
“The Silent, if there are changes, it’s difficult for them,” Carney said. “They believe in the ‘chain of command’ and technology could be difficult for them. Gen X’s ‘latch key’ kids may not work well in groups. Millennials may find it difficult to work on just one thing at a time.”
Union committees should make the most of what each generation has to offer.
“It’s important to find common ground and meet in the middle and if we learn more about each generation, it may make more sense why our teammates prefer to accomplish a task one way while we prefer another,” Carney said.