Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Can exercising on an elliptical with your boss make you a better worker? How about doing pull-ups with one of your subordinates; will that make you a better manager? These questions were asked, and answered, by the members of Local 97 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers with their management team at the Nine Mile Nuclear Plants based in Oswego, New York.
I recently got back from a business trip servicing these union nuclear professionals. While there I had an opportunity to witness what they called a Wellness Center. A few years back labor and management came up with this grand idea to create a committee comprised of three representatives from the union and three representatives from the company. The committee was charged with creating a fitness and recreation center for active employees, their dependents and retirees on company property. The location was key; it must be convenient for the employees at this high security, barbed wire, armed guard facility.
The company used some of their capital funds to build the facility, but only if the union did some fundraising to purchase the equipment. Nine Mile agreed to match any funds the workforce raised. The results were outstanding. This Wellness Center is located directly across from one of New York's most efficient nuclear power plants. It houses state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a steam room, televisions and they even have Zumba classes.
Most employees, both labor and management, use this facility either on their way to work or at the end of their shift. While getting their much needed exercise, bonds are made. Not just between union members, but between labor and management. Wellness Center users are able to talk about best practices, working conditions and job safety.
Getting workers and managers together in a sweaty gym is not as contentious as one would imagine. Jim Yeardon is a Business Representative with the union. He explained that he has seen an improvement in labor-management relations since the creation of the Wellness center. With contentious labor-management examples all around us like at Verizon, Cablevision, Walmart and the MTA, you can't help but hear the horror stories of employees just absolutely hating their bosses. The workforce, both union and non, at this nuclear power plant have taught us a thing or two that with a little bit of faith, some capital funds and some community building fundraising, working on exercising a healthy heart can lead to labor peace.
Columnist Kris LaGrange is a radio show host and head of UCOMM Communications, a labor-focused communications firm. This column originally appeared in the Long Island Business News on August 4, 2015. Read and share this story and more news like it on ucommblog.com
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