Labor–Management Partnerships for Public Transportation, Volume 1: Toolkit (2015)

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21 C H A P T E R 5 Historically, labor relations have been critical aspects of public transit operations in the United States. A positive and productive labor–management relationship is indispensable to delivering quality transit services to the public and maintaining high standards of labor welfare. LMPs are an effective way to improve labor relations in a transit system. The research that led to this Toolkit found that LMPs of various forms and extents already existed in the transit industry. LMPs benefit both management and union in ways such as effective operation and management decision-making, fairer compensation and employee welfare, training and career development opportunities, safety and health, and employees’ morale and productivity, among others. Most importantly, a successful LMP achieves such benefits without compromising the union’s inde- pendence and the management’s prerogatives. This Toolkit was designed to help transit systems establish (if an LMP does not already exist), improve, revive, or expand their LMPs. The LMP Charter helps management and union leaders to establish a partnership, if it does not exist, or to renew an existing one by periodically re-orienting themselves in their endeavor to improve workplace relations and re-examine the partnership with the different challenges and different people involved. The Labor–Management Partnership Guid- ance provides a practical reference of recommended actions for both management and union leaders. The Labor–Management Partnership Workshop Framework provides training tech- niques for LMP workshop developers. The continuing success of an LMP is a dynamic process that requires continuous effort from management and union leaders. Challenges for an established LMP caused by a wide range of factors such as labor disputes, management or union leadership turnover, operational or fiscal crises, and many others, are inevitable. A successful LMP has to quickly evolve so as to adapt to the changing environment. It is the objective of this Toolkit to provide the necessary tools for management and union leaders to sustain their partnerships through challenges and changes. Conclusion