Replying to LO18315 --
In a message dated 98-06-09 04:20:19 EDT, you write:
> A friend (Director of T&D for a
> healthcare corporation) is looking for suggestions for building bridges
> between those who honor the picket line and those who cross it, once a
> strike is over and they all have to work together again.
Simon--
I was tempted to write "You can't" and leave it at that. Then I (aging
classical scholar that I am) noted your definition of
"eXperientia"--conscious learning for life derived from purposeful
reflection on direct participation in action events." It made me pause to
reflect on similar experience.
We've worked primarily, though not exlusively, with union-managment
endeavors since 1982 ("We," by the way, is Core-R.O.I., a consulting group
based in NC, with partners in 6 other places. We were a "virtual team"
before we knew there was such a thing. There are benefits, I guess, to
living long enough.)
The "post strike" work we've done has been aimed at bringing union and
management back together once the dust has settled. That's tough enough.
Management memory is, oh, about two weeks long; union memory is a hundred
years (literally, I discovered some years ago, in the coal fields of West
Virginia ).
We usually propose a session (or several) with leadership designed
specifically for "venting, healing, and getting on with life." As one
participant in a steel company said about ten years ago, "It wasn't
pretty, but it helped." We help the participants describe--separately,
then exchange together--"consequences of continuing as we are" and "what's
in it for us/them to consider changing behavior." There's usually some
time given to story telling and chest-thumping (the venting part) up
front. The third element is an attempt to re-focus outward on what
'better' would look like.
As I said, most (if not all--I'd have to ask my partners) of our
experience with this sort of process has been with union and management
"reconciliation", not with intra-union membership. Depending on a) what
union, b) the "culture" of the specfic Local, and c) the context, e.g.
how nasty/long the strike/lockout was, the intra-union reconciliation may
or may not be possible.
In any case, it would have to start with both union and leadership
determining TOGETHER whether and how to proceed (starting with themselves
first).
'Hope this helps. We have some other information on union-management work
available on our website at www.coreroi.com.
George Gates
Core-R.O.I., Inc.
800-768-2673
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