Read this scenario
You have just been hired as the Vice-President of Labour Relations for a private company that recently
became certified. You are one of four vice-presidents that all repart to the president and founder of the
company and form the executive team. The owner of the company doesn't have any experience with
unions and his perception of a unionized workforce is unfavourable. He is very concerned about workers’
productivity, and has assumed it will go down significantly, and that the relationship between management
and the union can only be adversarial.
In your first meeting with him, he told you that he wants you to let the union know “who is really in charge”
and that you should look for every opportunity to interpret the collective agreement in favour of the
employer. He also stated, “if you aren't getting grievances, then you aren’t doing your job". You are starting
to have second thoughts about accepting this position.
- Prepare a business case that demonstrates your viewpoint on the importance of a collaborative union-
management relationship and how you would like to go about establishing this relationship (implementation
plan.) - Assuming your audience is the executive of the company.
Sample Solution