Supervisors

MGT210

Denny Remington

12/16/2011

Dealing with Unions

If I was a supervisor in a manufacturing plant and I heard rumors about a seemingly inactive union becoming active again and taking complaints to upper management, my first response would be to find out the root of the complaints. I would like to know if the complaint was something that I could solve or at least help to mutually come to a decision that satisfied both of the parties, management and the union representatives. If this is a situation that has not been brought to my attention before, then my first reaction would be to try and solve it without taking the problem any higher. If the problem was something that I had heard of on previous occasions, it would have been something that I had already mentioned to upper management if I could not solve.

Upon speaking to members of management, I would try to emphasize, no matter how obvious, the affect that a union strike could have on the company in general. Strikes cost the company a lot of money and cause a slow in production, which also costs money. I would outline the general and specific causes of the union members’ complaints, compared with the situations in the company, and try to find a middle ground that would satisfy both the expectations of the company and the union representatives and members.

As a supervisor, this is one of my responsibilities because I am supposed to be the middle man or middle ground between management and the employees and unions. The supervisor is the voice that speaks for both management and the employees, and both groups interact with me more than they act with each other, and it is my duty to show both concerns and try to satisfy everybody involved.