Premier Breakthroughs Conference 2006

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Premier Breakthroughs Conference 2006

• Unions in the 21st Century
• and
• Healthcare Leadership Challenges
• Are You Prepared ?
• June 23, 2006

David Rittof
David Bax
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Agenda

• Current Trends
• The Players
• How Unions Are Marketing Themselves Today
• What to Expect from Healthcare Unions Moving
  Forward
• What Should We Be Doing?

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Current Trends
Union Members as Percentage ofEmployed Wage and
Salaried WorkersBy Industry For 2005
Source Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006
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Current Trends
N.L.R.B. Representation ElectionsFor Years 1995
- 2005
Source Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006
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Current Trends
N.L.R.B. Election Data By Industry2005 Elections
Total
Won Won Industry
Elections By Union
By Union Finance, Insurance Real
Estate 32 27 84.4 Construction 368 272 73
.9 Health Care Services 251 164 65.3 Se
rvices 660 430 65.2 Tran
sportation, Comm. Utilities 343 205 59.8 M
ining 12 7 58.3 Wholesal
e 56 29 51.8 Manufacturing 281 131 46.6
Communication Only 37 15 40.5Retail
93 37 39.8
Source Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006
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Current Trends
Why Target Healthcare Employees?
It is an industry in crisis - -

• Nursing shortage
• Staffing ratio legislation making headlines
• Americans concerned about access to quality care
• Corporate scandals in all industries affecting
  popular opinion

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Current Trends
Nurses from Eight Unions Band Together

• United American Nurses
• American Federation of State, County and
  Municipal Employees
• American Federation of Teachers
• Communication Workers of America
• American Federation of Government Employees
• United Steelworkers
• Office and Professional Employees International
  Union
• United Auto Workers

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The Players
VS.
John Sweeney AFL-CIO President
Andrew Stern SEIU President
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The Players
VS.
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The Players

• Pulled out of AFL-CIO
• Top spending priority is more organizing.
• Members
• Teamsters
• LIUNA
• SEIU
• UFCW
• Carpenters
• Farm Workers
• UNITE-HERE

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The Players

• 84,000 members in 23 states?
• New?
• Value Care, Value Nurses kickoff

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The Players

• Began second nationwide tour October 2005
• Successes in Chicago, Arizona?
• Applying to become member in AFL-CIO
• Mistake in supporting staffing ratio legislation?

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How Unions are Marketing - Why should we care?

• Traditional Concerns
• Loss of control
• Loss of flexibility
• Loss of direct communication with employees
• Potential loss of business
• Increased cost of operations
• Creates a confrontational climate
• Loss in work harmony, employee morale and
  teamwork
• Goals and objectives of union in opposition to
  goals and objectives of organization
• Establishes the union as a non-risk taking
  partner

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How Unions are Marketing - Why should we care?

• Todays Additional Concerns
• New construction
• Public perception of quality at your hospital
• Bond approval
• Acquisitions
• Capital campaigns
• Competition for market share
• Attracting physician referrals
• Recruiting nurses and other professionals
• Amount of board involvement in day-to-day
  operations

Could a union campaign have an impact on any or
all of these?
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How Unions are Marketing Understanding the
Approach

• Avoiding NLRB election procedure via
• Card check recognition, or
• Alternative election procedure (neutrality
  agreement)
• Leverage during contract negotiations

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How Unions are Marketing

• Swarming the target employer from every angle,
  great and small, with an eye toward inflicting
  upon the employer the death of a thousand cuts
  rather than a single blow.
• AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka

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How Unions are Marketing
New Tactics

• Salting
• Card Check
• Neutrality agreements
• Corporate Campaigns
• Virtual Organizing

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How Unions are Marketing
Tactics Gaining Access

• Leafleting hospital
• Wearing scrubs and going onto units
• Passing out food, flowers, and gifts
• Camping out in cafeterias and public areas
• Nurse Flight Team

Verbally attacking managers Storming
administration with signed petitions Bringing
employees from other unionized hospitals Stealth
campaign Domino Effect
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How Unions Are Marketing
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How Unions Are Marketing
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How Unions Are Marketing
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How Unions Are Marketing
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How Unions Are Marketing
3. What is the nurse to patient ratio in your
unit now? 4. What do you think it should be?
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How Unions Are Marketing
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A Twice the Price report would have a
significant impact on our reputation.

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Not Sure
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

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The group that might be most concerned about
Twice the Price...

• Employees
• Hospital Managers
• Hospital/System Administration
• Hospital/System Board
• Community
• Community Leaders
• Religious Leaders
• Political Leaders
• Vendors
• Media

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How Unions Are Marketing
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An Over the Top report would have a significant
impact on our reputation.

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Not Sure
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

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The group that might be most concerned about
Over the Top.

• Employees
• Hospital Managers
• Hospital/System Administration
• Hospital/System Board
• Community
• Community Leaders
• Religious Leaders
• Political Leaders
• Vendors
• Media

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How Unions Are Marketing
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A Critical Condition report would have a
significant impact on our reputation.

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Not Sure
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

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The group that might be most concerned about
Critical Condition.

• Employees
• Hospital Managers
• Hospital/System Administration
• Hospital/System Board
• Community
• Community Leaders
• Religious Leaders
• Political Leaders
• Vendors
• Media

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How Unions Are Marketing

• Will Yale-New Haven stop arresting its
  patients?

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How Unions Are Marketing

• Dueling Billboards

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How Unions Are Marketing

• Television Ads
• Full Length Video
• Religious Leaders
• Political Leaders
• Members of the Community
• Employees
• Patients

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How Unions Are Marketing

• Local Politicians
• Community
• Employees
• Physicians
• Other Politicians

• Board of Trustees
• Media
• Business Partners
• Regulators
• Religious Leaders

Goal of union is to build alliances
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How Unions Are Marketing
New Tactics Public Relations

• News conferences
• IRS 990
• Interviews
• Radio and TV ads
• Letters to the editor
• Radio call-in shows

• Staffing legislation
• California
• Other legislation
• Patient Bill of Rights
• Safe Needle Campaign

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What Should We Be Doing
Anti-Hospital Pro-Hospital (Pro-Union)



(Anti-Union)

?----------------Election Campaign----------------
?
     

?----------------------------------Employee
Relations--------------------------------?

      ?-----------------------------------
----------------------------------Hospital
Reputation ---------------------------------------
-----------------------?

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What Should We Be Doing

• Union Front
• Briefing for Executives
• Training for Managers
• Audit
• Employee Relations Front
• Voluntary Commitment to Positive Employee
  Relations
• Employee Survey and Follow Through
• Effective Employee Committees
• Communication Effectiveness
• Reputation Front
• (Next Slide)

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What Should We Be Doing

• Reputation Front
• Understand the potential themes targeted by union
  organizers
• Audit current vulnerabilities
• Know the status of the relationships with all of
  the constituents/stakeholders.
• Objectively and regularly measure the perceptions
  of all organizations constituents.
• Develop a proactive strategy to effectively
  communicate and strengthen those relationships.
• Build a broad-based understanding of positive
  impact your organization has on the community.

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What Should We Be Doing
Employee Preferred Source of Information(Particip
ants could choose more than one.)
92.0
51.0
29.0
Supervisor
Top Executive
Union

• 43 of employees in the workplace are cynics
• 83 of employees rank supervisors as most
  believable source of information
• 97 of CEOs believe their communication affects
  employee job satisfaction
• 75 of CEOs believe their communication affects
  employee job performance

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Questions, Comments, Collaboration
If you would like to reach one of us David
Rittof Modern Management, Inc. 253 Commerce
Drive, Suite 105 Grayslake, IL 60030
[phone] [phone]drittof_at_modernmanage
ment.com David M. Bax MSA I Clark Consulting 700
West 47th Street, Suite 400 Kansas City, MO
64112 [phone] Main [phone]
Mobile david.bax_at_mgmtscience.com