ORC Sightlines
January 2006
- Employers Beware: Unions May Yet Hit on That Winning Formula
- Understanding Global Diversity
- ORC Launches Global Diversity Network
Employers Beware: Unions May Yet Hit on That Winning Formula
Last summer, seven labor unions formed the Change-to-Win Coalition, most of them simultaneously pulling out of the AFL-CIO. Their chief gripe with the older federation was the way the AFL-CIO spends its money. Change-to-Win vows to redirect its resources and energies directly into organizing workers, especially in sectors currently unorganized and industries not easily outsourced. The AFL-CIO retains a number of strong unions, but it is now dominated by those representing public employees who are already heavily unionized, such as police and teachers, and it remains to be seen whether they will support a similarly aggressive stance.
What does this mean, if anything, for employers? For one thing, we can expect a step up in the number of organizing drives from both camps as each looks to perfect its campaign strategies and prove its relevance. They will probably intensify the pressure on companies to agree to remain neutral in organizing campaigns and to accept card checks in place of elections. Fierce corporate campaigns, in which the union uses the media to paint an unflattering portrait of the company’s employment practices, will most likely increase.
The members of the Change-to-Win Coalition, meanwhile, are swapping locals and aligning their resources so that one of its unions will be able to dominate each industry it targets. And, although the Coalition has said it will eschew automatic support for Democratic candidates, it still intends to be a player on the political scene, lending its muscle to pivotal issues and races.
While all this is going on, unions will continue to try and find a way to increase their global leverage. One strategy that employers should be on guard against is establishment of common expiration dates. In this scenario, the union attempts to negotiate each local contract around the world with the same expiration date—something fairly easy to do if no one in corporate is keeping a close watch—which could severely weaken the company’s ability to withstand a strike threat.
Exactly how this internal competition in the world of organized labor will all play out remains to be seen, but companies cannot afford to be complacent. At the very least, the new labor landscape will undoubtedly energize organizing activity in some sectors, and it’s just possible that, out of all the apparent chaos, the U.S. labor movement will hit on a new, more effective formula for organizing American workers and exerting more control over employers.
ORC’s Labor and Industrial Relations Advisory Group keeps members informed on the latest developments and effective strategies for managing labor relations. For more information, please contact Tom Connors at 212-852-0352.
Understanding Global Diversity
In the U.S. and U.K., the focus of diversity efforts has been on representation of and equal opportunities for minority groups, for example, women, specific ethnic groups, disabled people, religious groups, or people who have suffered some other kind of discrimination. By contrast, in continental Europe, where it is not the custom or practice to identify and measure ethnicity in the workforce (in fact, some countries have outlawed the practice), the term “diversity” has been applied predominantly to gender issues, although recent EU legislation has addressed other categories, namely age, disability, race and ethnic origin, religion and belief, and sexual orientation.
At the global level, diversity in developing nations is viewed differently than in developed nations at a very fundamental level. Where economic and social rights, such as food, shelter and education, are of primary importance to the people, diversity as it is perceived in developing countries—as a matter of civil and political rights—will be very low down on the hierarchy of needs. And when policies that support the diversity agenda are implemented, it may be more because of specific economic pressures than concern for rights of a particular group. For example, Korea, like the EU, is seeking to extend the retirement age, but for a very different reason—to reduce poverty in old age. (European moves to extend the retirement age are not wholly stimulated by concern for the rights of older people either; pressure on pension systems has also been a motivator.)
Consequently, a key challenge for any organization with a global workforce is to develop a common understanding of diversity, and how it applies to the organization at a local level. This process may well be time-consuming, but once it has been achieved, through research and dialogue with employees in local areas, goals can be set that match local needs and fit into the overall framework of values that the organization has defined. For example, in some locations, increasing the number of women in management might be the main goal, while in others, the objective might be to increase opportunities for individuals of a certain caste, or to address a bullying problem. There will, of course, be occasions when corporate values will be challenged, or when they conflict with established practices at local level. In these situations, the organization’s commitment to diversity will be tested as it seeks to impose corporate values that will override local ones.
Based on an article by Deirdre Golden, head of ORC’s equal opportunities practice in Europe, that appeared in the November 14, 2005, issue of Monday Developments, published by InterAction, an alliance of international nongovernmental organizations. The full article is available in the ORC Reading Room.
ORC Launches Global Diversity Network
ORC is delighted to announce the launch of the ORC Global Diversity Forum (GDF) for diversity leaders in global corporations committed to inclusion and development of a multicultural, international talent base. In three meetings each year, members will gain information, insight, and the benefit of the groups’ collective experience in creating and adapting diversity strategies that are effective in a global organization. The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 in Miami.
The Global Diversity Forum is a unique, cross-industry network in which leading global organizations can share diversity and equality strategies, best practices, policies, and other information in a confidential forum. Members learn from each other and invited experts about diversity management practices and the cultural, socio-economic, and legal environment of other regions of the world. Between meetings, members receive updates on global diversity trends and developments, and share practices and information via surveys and informal networking.
Current membership in the GDF comprises 18 Fortune 500 US-based and equivalent European multinationals in the energy, technology, pharmaceutical, financial services, manufacturing, mining, and hospitality industries.
For almost half a century, ORC Worldwide has been helping leading companies address their workforce diversity and equal opportunity issues. ORC manages over 50 employer networks, including diversity networks in the U.S. and Europe.
For information on membership in the Global Diversity Forum, please contact Liz MacGillivray in New York (212-852-0406) or Deirdre Golden in London (44 0207-591-5600).