| As retail business has changed to take advantage of
Internet marketing and sales opportunities, labor organizations are also beginning to
adapt to new online workplaces. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "vigorous
efforts by unions to organize industries that have traditionally not been organized, as
well as new approaches to organizing in other industries, may lead to increases in the
unionization rate." Frank Vehavric, business agent for the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and executive board member of the AFL-CIO
in Oregon from 1994-1999, says that while unionization is not yet a trend among e-tailers,
it may become one in the future. It may emerge, speculates Vehavric, as "businesses
become less entrepreneurial and start treating their production employees as cost centers
rather than resources." In the rush to market, dot-coms have not all played fair with
employees. Lawsuits are now being filed against employers who exacted long hours from
their employees with the promise of stock options and vast sums when the company went
public.Labor organizations have recently entered the online business arena in a
high-visibility unionization effort at Amazon.com, which is always in the forefront of
online trends. Some customer service employees at the firm's Seattle office are working
with WashTech, an area high-tech labor group affiliated with the Communication Workers of
America. Another labor group, The Prewitt Organizing Fund, has contacted the 5,000 Amazon
employees in other U.S. locations, France, and Germany, to determine their viewpoint on
unionization. As such it has taken a preliminary step which employers can do little to
forestall. In the United States, employers must allow employees to vote on unionization,
and a simple majority decides the outcome of the election.
Amazon customer service employees, according to
WashTech News, have brought up issues such as mandatory overtime and holiday work,
surprise shift changes, and, in general, increased pressure "in an already stressful
work environment." Deeper concerns include job security: Amazon has hired new
customer service personnel in areas of the United States where labor costs are lower, and
it has outsourced some customer service work to a firm in India. Employees would also like
to address issues of career advancement and continuing education.
Many of
your own employees may have the same concerns, and taking advantage of Amazon's example to
address these problems may help you to avoid unionization efforts in your own company.
Pre-empting Unionization
There are advantages to having a well-cared-for
workforce. One is that motivated employees will work harder, think better, and in general
increase the company's profitability. Another is that the reputation of your company in
the community will increase, as the good working conditions you maintain become known. A
good reputation not only increases the financial value of your e-tail business, but also
gives you an edge in recruiting talented new employees. You can make these advantages
known by the use of public relations materials and company participation in community
affairs.
Whether
your business is a dot-com, a brick-and-mortar, or a bricks-and-clicks combination,
keeping your employees happy is a sound investment, according to Hugh Judd, a
labor-management relations attorney and lecturer in collective bargaining and arbitration
at the University of Washington. "If employees feel recognized and rewarded," he
says, "there's less likelihood of union organization." To minimize the
possibility of a labor movement in your company, Judd recommends taking such steps as the
following:
Pay employees equitably. While
it may be tempting to start out offering the lowest possible wages, this may not be the
best long-term solution. This is especially true in an environment where fewer workers are
willing to defer current wages in the expectation of receiving windfalls from IPO stock
options. Your best bet is to provide compensation packages that are fair, equitable, and
competitive. Review employee benefits on a regular basis, and where possible, incorporate
feedback from employees into new compensation plans.
Treat
your employees well in day-to-day operations. Work to keep the lines of
communication open between people in all areas of the e-tailing operation. Make sure
employees are treated with respect, whether they are packing boxes or programming
computers. Workers in nonprofessional occupations -- customer service and warehouse
employees, for example -- need to feel that their work is as important to the company's
success as anyone else's. Take concrete measures to ensure that everyone feels like part
of the team:
- Encourage feedback. Implement a
system to solicit and process suggestions and feedback in a secure environment so that
employees can freely speak their minds. Implement routine, anonymous ratings and reviews
for managers and work processes so that you can monitor how well your management team is
performing.
Help employees to take task
ownership. By acting on suggestions and providing benchmarks and goals that
employees can meet, you can reward positive results and encourage pride and satisfaction
in a job well done.
- Reward seniority. Promote
stability and lower turnover by thinking of any hire as a potential lifelong hire, and
establish ways to reward long-term service. Such rewards don't necessarily have to be
monetary. After all, while pay increases are necessary, they aren't always feasible.
Rewards for seniority may include better parking, a longer lunch break, better holiday
benefits, or any other form of preferential treatment over junior employees. Providing
these incentives can help you keep institutional skills and knowledge in-house.
Affording
Benefits and Job Security
Providing benefits and job security for your
employees is a good long-term policy, but you may wonder whether you can afford it in the
short term. Building a strong new business is difficult, and you may decide to cut costs
by outsourcing certain jobs. This can be an effective solution, if handled responsibly, to
allow your company to focus on its core competencies, says Martina Boone, Managing
Director of The Write Edge. One ideal candidate for outsourcing is a special or seasonal
project that requires a rapid buildup of temporary employees; others include any area of
production that is ancillary to your main business focus. By choosing your outsourced
areas carefully, you can provide better security for your employees and eliminate the
perception of uncertainty created by fluctuations or "temp" hires. By reducing
the costs involved in setting up the outsourced tasks, you can provide better conditions
and supervision in your primary business areas, which can improve your working conditions
overall. Having fewer employees and treating them well is better than having more
employees that you can't afford to keep.
Responding
to Unionization
For most businesses, avoiding a unionization
movement is the best solution. Clearly, providing appropriate and enjoyable working
conditions is the first step in that direction. Few businesses welcome unionization into
their premises, citing work disruptions, higher costs, and loss of management control over
human resources as the most common side effects. As a business owner, you do have the
option of fighting the unionization process. Consultants and attorneys are available who
will help you oppose unionization by developing anti-union presentations for your
employees and advising you of your rights as an employer under the National Labor
Relations Act (NLRA), the law governing the unionization process.
If all
else fails and your employees vote to unionize, union officials like Vehavric point out
that the benefits are not all one-sided. Unionization can result in decreased training
costs, because unions will pay part or all of the costs of apprenticeship programs.
Vehavric also points out that "union security can create a more productive worker
because less time and energy is devoted to worry and job hassles."
If unionization does happen, avoiding an
adversarial relationship is the key to receiving benefits from the transition. Fall back
on your good communication skills and interest in effecting job satisfaction. Any time
that an "us vs. them" mentality creeps into your company, your productivity and
security are jeopardized. Both you and your workforce have the mutual goal of making the
company profitable. Judd and Vehavric emphasize that unions themselves would greatly
prefer a cooperative rather than adversarial relationship to management, and Judd stresses
the importance of owners and managers working with union representatives on an ongoing
basis.
As an
e-tailer, focusing on traditional business practices is going to become increasingly
important as the lines blur between e-tail and retail. The area of employee relations
appears to be another in which some shoring up is warranted. By taking steps to improve
your labor-management situation, you can possibly prevent unionization. In the process,
you will build a workforce of happier, more dedicated, more stable, and more productive
team members who can help you to care for your customers. |
