What can or should managers/supervisors do during a strike?
May 23, 2013 7:53 PM Subscribe
I work in a managerial/supervisory role in a public agency. My colleagues who are union members will quite likely be going on strike Tuesday. I have never been in this situation before and am not sure what I can/should do.
So, I feel like this is a really stupid question, but my work life has never previously involved a unionized workplace, or the logistics and ethics of dealing with a strike. I am totally and completely on the side of the union in this particular dispute. I am also very worried about the people our organization serves who could be in significant difficulty with no staff to help them.
My direct supervisor, who shares my feelings of support for the union, has sort of conveyed to me that the expectation is that we will be present, working, doing what we can, but at the same time not endeavoring to entirely fill the roles of our striking colleagues, and that that is OK. I would feel weird and creepy crossing picket lines, but if this is something that's expected of people in managerial/supervisory roles, or at least not culpable and rat-like, it would be reassuring to know that. I want to be able to continue assisting people who rely on our office for services, but I don't want to undercut the sacrifices my colleagues on strike would be making.
Help? Words of wisdom?
So, I feel like this is a really stupid question, but my work life has never previously involved a unionized workplace, or the logistics and ethics of dealing with a strike. I am totally and completely on the side of the union in this particular dispute. I am also very worried about the people our organization serves who could be in significant difficulty with no staff to help them.
My direct supervisor, who shares my feelings of support for the union, has sort of conveyed to me that the expectation is that we will be present, working, doing what we can, but at the same time not endeavoring to entirely fill the roles of our striking colleagues, and that that is OK. I would feel weird and creepy crossing picket lines, but if this is something that's expected of people in managerial/supervisory roles, or at least not culpable and rat-like, it would be reassuring to know that. I want to be able to continue assisting people who rely on our office for services, but I don't want to undercut the sacrifices my colleagues on strike would be making.
Help? Words of wisdom?
Bring the picketers doughnuts or coffee in the morning, chat if they feel like it before you head into the office. Then go do your job. Those employees striking care about the clients, too. I suspect that they are doing this as a last resort, and it is partly fueled by wanting to do their jobs well. It might help to remember that as you go do your job.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 8:10 PM on May 23, 2013 [11 favorites]
posted by Nickel Pickle at 8:10 PM on May 23, 2013 [11 favorites]
Yes, strikes, even acrimonious ones, are simply part of negotiation. There's no need to treat them as "burn it to the effing ground" actions -- not that you were, but just to underline that job action isn't always how it's represented in the movies (or in the media!)
In a perfect world, we'd have legislation protecting workers who don't feel comfortable crossing picket lines. But we don't have that. The best thing to do is, as NP says, is approach to the line and ask to speak to the picket captain. Explain your situation to him or her and in all likelihood they'll be surprised you came to talk to them at all. Bring donuts or coffee and you'll be a hero!
You could even spend some time on the picket as a show of support, if you like. Not sure how comfortable you are with labour politics though. But in my experience strikes are always great ways to meet the people you work with.
posted by Catchfire at 8:27 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
In a perfect world, we'd have legislation protecting workers who don't feel comfortable crossing picket lines. But we don't have that. The best thing to do is, as NP says, is approach to the line and ask to speak to the picket captain. Explain your situation to him or her and in all likelihood they'll be surprised you came to talk to them at all. Bring donuts or coffee and you'll be a hero!
You could even spend some time on the picket as a show of support, if you like. Not sure how comfortable you are with labour politics though. But in my experience strikes are always great ways to meet the people you work with.
posted by Catchfire at 8:27 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I agree with bringing donuts and chatting briefly. Anyone who knows your basic job title won't think you're a scab if you go in. You're not replacing them. It's probably going to feel awkward no matter what.
posted by latkes at 9:21 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by latkes at 9:21 PM on May 23, 2013
Do your job. Your coworkers strike has nothing to do with your arrangement with your employer. In other words, your coworkers strike should not affect how you treat your employer - positively or negatively. There's no reason to do more work than you were before (you are not going to get paid more), nor is there any reason to do less work than you were before (you are not getting paid less). As a professional, your relationship is with your employer, not your coworkers.
posted by saeculorum at 9:26 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by saeculorum at 9:26 PM on May 23, 2013
Oh gosh I have so been there, on both the management side and the union side. (Most recently, a five month lockout.) The first thing you need to know is that there are rules: you are obviously not the first person this has ever happened to, and the correct behaviour is codified and well understood.
Caveat: my background is public sector in Canada. It may be different where you are.
So, it is totally normal and expected that you will cross the picketline. That is not strikebreaking or scabbing: nobody will curse you or spit on you or even think less of you. (Unless they are total assholes.) It's your job to cross the picketline and everyone knows that.
It is considered a kindness and is a normal ritual to bring food or drinks to the picketline. Your company should not think less of you for doing that, unless they are dicks. (Which they may be.) It is also totally okay and appreciated to walk the line a bit, chatting with your unionized friends. Don't chant or obstruct anyone going into work, obviously, but hanging out and walking is fine. Be with the line but not part of it. It is also considered a show of mild solidarity to go outside at lunch and eat with, or near, the strikers. Bring your own food :-)
The line may block the entrance: if so, you will be asked to wait for a management escort to come escort you into the building. This is normal: you should comply. Respect the line. Don't push past it, and wait for the line captain to tell you what to do. It's fine and normal to chat -- about the weather, about how people are feeling, about whatever is in the news. If you bust through the line people will be mad at you.
That means arrive at work a little early. It's considered bad form by management to do less work because of the strike: it's your responsibility to put in your normal hours. If you do feel solidarity with the strikers then showing up early to respect the line is one way you can do that.
Your work may require you to put in extra hours to take up the slack from the strikers. This is okay too. They should compensate you for it. That is part of how the strike makes them hurt -- because they will pay a lot of overtime. If you feel uncomfortable making extra money because of the strike there is usually a strikers fund you can donate to: do that.
In the office, talk about the strike as little as you can, and try to talk only about logistics: when might it end, what should you be focused on doing that day, maybe what happened today in the talks. Try not to talk about the big picture or about your own views. You almost certainly don't have the full picture of what's going on, and it's hard to guess what other people may think. There is sympathy for the striker in surprising places, and the opposite. People will be emotional. Best to avoid the big picture unless you are very knowledgeable.
There will always be a few yahoos who get excited about the strike and behave badly, so you can expect some people to be weird -- shouty, aggressive. But if it's a well-run strike hardly anyone will behave like that. Just be a decent person, and you'll be fine.
posted by Susan PG at 9:51 PM on May 23, 2013 [17 favorites]
Caveat: my background is public sector in Canada. It may be different where you are.
So, it is totally normal and expected that you will cross the picketline. That is not strikebreaking or scabbing: nobody will curse you or spit on you or even think less of you. (Unless they are total assholes.) It's your job to cross the picketline and everyone knows that.
It is considered a kindness and is a normal ritual to bring food or drinks to the picketline. Your company should not think less of you for doing that, unless they are dicks. (Which they may be.) It is also totally okay and appreciated to walk the line a bit, chatting with your unionized friends. Don't chant or obstruct anyone going into work, obviously, but hanging out and walking is fine. Be with the line but not part of it. It is also considered a show of mild solidarity to go outside at lunch and eat with, or near, the strikers. Bring your own food :-)
The line may block the entrance: if so, you will be asked to wait for a management escort to come escort you into the building. This is normal: you should comply. Respect the line. Don't push past it, and wait for the line captain to tell you what to do. It's fine and normal to chat -- about the weather, about how people are feeling, about whatever is in the news. If you bust through the line people will be mad at you.
That means arrive at work a little early. It's considered bad form by management to do less work because of the strike: it's your responsibility to put in your normal hours. If you do feel solidarity with the strikers then showing up early to respect the line is one way you can do that.
Your work may require you to put in extra hours to take up the slack from the strikers. This is okay too. They should compensate you for it. That is part of how the strike makes them hurt -- because they will pay a lot of overtime. If you feel uncomfortable making extra money because of the strike there is usually a strikers fund you can donate to: do that.
In the office, talk about the strike as little as you can, and try to talk only about logistics: when might it end, what should you be focused on doing that day, maybe what happened today in the talks. Try not to talk about the big picture or about your own views. You almost certainly don't have the full picture of what's going on, and it's hard to guess what other people may think. There is sympathy for the striker in surprising places, and the opposite. People will be emotional. Best to avoid the big picture unless you are very knowledgeable.
There will always be a few yahoos who get excited about the strike and behave badly, so you can expect some people to be weird -- shouty, aggressive. But if it's a well-run strike hardly anyone will behave like that. Just be a decent person, and you'll be fine.
posted by Susan PG at 9:51 PM on May 23, 2013 [17 favorites]
I am management in a public interest legal services organization which is unionized and where the union has been on strike since May 15. Because I (and my striking colleagues) are lawyers, and because we serve the most desperate and destitute populations in Brooklyn, I believe I need to make sure that our ethical obligations to our clients are fulfilled. This is my job, strike or no strike. I am not sure what you mean by public agency, but if part or all of your agency's function is to serve under-served populations, then I would say that it becomes incumbent upon you and your colleagues in management positions to try to make sure your clientele continue to receive quality services. If, on the other hand, you serve just the general population, perhaps you can figure out a different way that doesn't result in you being fired. It really sucks to cross a picket line (I was union before I was management) but I need to know our clients are being cared for, no matter what is going on between our union and management leaders. Feel free to MeMail me if you want to talk further.
posted by lassie at 11:03 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by lassie at 11:03 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I had a parent who was on strike with their union in the 1980's and they had nothing negative to say about management going to work. Management was not part of the union and they were expected to go to work.
However, when you say:
but at the same time not endeavoring to entirely fill the roles of our striking colleagues, and that that is OK.
I think you and your supervisor have the right idea.
My parent was in a white-collar union and most of the members were rather laid-back. That said, picket lines can get rowdy.
I remember them telling me how the Teamsters would not cross the picket line (They had been scheduled to make deliveries of some kind) and neither would members of a construction trade union.
posted by mlis at 11:45 PM on May 23, 2013
However, when you say:
but at the same time not endeavoring to entirely fill the roles of our striking colleagues, and that that is OK.
I think you and your supervisor have the right idea.
My parent was in a white-collar union and most of the members were rather laid-back. That said, picket lines can get rowdy.
I remember them telling me how the Teamsters would not cross the picket line (They had been scheduled to make deliveries of some kind) and neither would members of a construction trade union.
posted by mlis at 11:45 PM on May 23, 2013
You're management, so you are expected to show up on time and ready to do your job. Depending how many people you expect to be walking the picket line, you might want to show up a little earlier than usual.
The strikers are not allowed to make physical contact with your or your vehicle, nor are they allowed to physically block the entrance; although in a really rowdy strike, of course, some do. Picket lines must be off the property --- outside the gates or on the public sidewalk, for instance --- or they open themselves to being arrested for trespassing on the company's property. Strikers must keep moving, keep walking: staying stationary, like a sitdown strike or even chaining themselves to trees or fences or each other, again leaves them open to arrest, as does any physical violence or vandalism. Yelling, carrying signs and passing out flyers is all allowable; stationary signs, say planted in the ground or propped against stuff, isn't. (And sorry: since the strikers aren't allowed onto the company's property, no, they're not allowed to use company restrooms!)
And for what it's worth, the political climate ever since Reagan has been VERY anti-union, to the extent that even the NLRB almost always comes down on the side of business, no matter how clearly the labor *law* might be on the union's side..... ask me how I know, and about a picket line I once walked after we were clearly illegally locked out.
But your colleagues aren't likely to do more than march in a circle carrying their signs, maybe with a couple fistfuls of handouts; I sincerely doubt this will be very big or rowdy. Go to work, do you job as well as you can, and yeah: maybe some donuts or drinks or even sandwiches.
posted by easily confused at 2:49 AM on May 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The strikers are not allowed to make physical contact with your or your vehicle, nor are they allowed to physically block the entrance; although in a really rowdy strike, of course, some do. Picket lines must be off the property --- outside the gates or on the public sidewalk, for instance --- or they open themselves to being arrested for trespassing on the company's property. Strikers must keep moving, keep walking: staying stationary, like a sitdown strike or even chaining themselves to trees or fences or each other, again leaves them open to arrest, as does any physical violence or vandalism. Yelling, carrying signs and passing out flyers is all allowable; stationary signs, say planted in the ground or propped against stuff, isn't. (And sorry: since the strikers aren't allowed onto the company's property, no, they're not allowed to use company restrooms!)
And for what it's worth, the political climate ever since Reagan has been VERY anti-union, to the extent that even the NLRB almost always comes down on the side of business, no matter how clearly the labor *law* might be on the union's side..... ask me how I know, and about a picket line I once walked after we were clearly illegally locked out.
But your colleagues aren't likely to do more than march in a circle carrying their signs, maybe with a couple fistfuls of handouts; I sincerely doubt this will be very big or rowdy. Go to work, do you job as well as you can, and yeah: maybe some donuts or drinks or even sandwiches.
posted by easily confused at 2:49 AM on May 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Just in case you're still worried about crossing the picket line: yes, mlis is correct that the Teamsters and other union members won't cross a line. That's because they're union members. You are expected by everyone to cross the line, because you're management.
If you don't cross the line that's an individual action by you not to show up for work, and your organization will almost certainly fire you. (It's possible you could fudge the issue by using sick leave or vacation time but again, nobody expects you to do that.) Your unionized colleagues are on a legal strike -- an action that they voted to give their mandated representatives permission to take. You are not. You are not represented by any union, and therefore you're an individual actor here. That's why everyone expects you to cross the line. If you don't, it would be an extraordinary act, and lots of people (including union members) would find it kind of silly, not heroic.
posted by Susan PG at 1:55 PM on May 26, 2013
If you don't cross the line that's an individual action by you not to show up for work, and your organization will almost certainly fire you. (It's possible you could fudge the issue by using sick leave or vacation time but again, nobody expects you to do that.) Your unionized colleagues are on a legal strike -- an action that they voted to give their mandated representatives permission to take. You are not. You are not represented by any union, and therefore you're an individual actor here. That's why everyone expects you to cross the line. If you don't, it would be an extraordinary act, and lots of people (including union members) would find it kind of silly, not heroic.
posted by Susan PG at 1:55 PM on May 26, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pompomtom at 8:07 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]