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Cook County commissioners held a special two-hour meeting on Tuesday, April 6, to discuss the possibility of creating a labor-management committee (LMC) that would meet on an ongoing basis to facilitate communication and relationships between bargaining units and organizational leadership.
Cook County Administrator James Joerke made a short presentation offering various reasons for commissioners to consider starting a labor-management committee. He noted labor negotiations tend to be contentious and contain a competitive dynamic to them where “each side is trying to get the best of the other side.”
Instead, he offered that LMC’s create paths for dialog, help people learn to work collaboratively and develop community problem solving. He added that LMC’s help build trust between parties as participants learn to move from conflict to effective solutions on challenging public issues.
Cook County Commissioner Board Chair Dave Mills said he would welcome a process that would strengthen the culture of labor negotiations through frequent discussions “instead of going at it every three years.” Still, Mills said of serving on an LMC, “This is not light work; it’s difficult work.”
Commissioner Bob Svaleson told commissioners he had been on two similar committees in private non-governmental work. These committees focused on work conditions, he said, adding it took a while to work the kinks out, but once labor and management had built trust, negotiations “were a much cleaner process.”
Commissioner Ginny Storlie liked the idea of an LMC because it would allow for collaborative ideas and guidelines for negotiations and give all negotiating parties a forum to rely on.
“I’m worried about adding another layer,” said Commissioner Stacey Hawkins. Among other things Hawkins asked who would be responsible for making reports and taking minutes at the LMC meetings and what would the extra cost be to the county?
Mills said they were good questions, and he didn’t have the answers to them. Commissioner Ann Sullivan said commissioners might have many of their questions answered in the LCM training, and she motioned to approve the training with all commissioners voting in support.
After the commissioners finished their discussion, they agreed to attend a full day of labor relations training offered for free by the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services.
The training will be done with labor and management and includes information and the LMC Step Model, emphasizing communication, problem-solving, and consensus decision making.
Other components of training include understanding conflict, problem-solving skills (perspective taking, listening, reframing, de-escalation, and managing strong emotions). All of the training is customized to meet the needs of the group in training.
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