The Atmosphere after an Agreement is Reached
Ever since I noticed the first lawn sign in support of nurses pop up in my neighborhood, I’ve been watching the developments in the growing rift between Twin Cities’ hospitals and the Minnesota Nurses Association. Both sides appear locked in their positions. According to news reports little progress has been made during negotiations. On June 10 the nurses held a one-day strike.
As both sides have dug in, I’ve been left with a question that I’ve been trying to answer: “When all is said and done and a new contract has been signed, how will the hospitals ever create a productive and harmonious working environment?” There has been plenty of ill-will built up between managers and nurses. After the strike, those who walked the line will be mad at those that did not honor that line. These feelings of anger, mistrust, and resentment could linger for years.
At this moment, it’s hard to see what will bring the two sides together, but I am certain about the behaviors that will pull them further apart. Reading opinions from both sides, I’ve seen plenty of the following:
- Stating that your side owns the truth.
- Asking people to take sides.
- Taking a “You’re either with us or against us” stance.
- Instilling fear through the use of scare tactics.
- Name-calling and bullying.
- Believing that the other side is wrong or evil.
- Treating the other side as your enemy.
- Assuming you understand why others make the choices that they do.
- Cherry-picking facts that support your arguments.
- Not considering the interests of the other party.
- Being purposely disrespectful.
I’ve always been about helping employees (and that means managers too) work effectively together. Eventually this thing will be settled. Regardless of who wins on the major points of contention, one things is certain; the people who continue working at these hospitals will need to spend a lot of time around the people with whom they currently disagree. Fixing one thing only to permanently destroy the atmosphere doesn’t seem like a good trade-off.
If there was ever a time to crank up the empathy, respect, and problem-solving creativity; it is now. Let’s minimize the potential for long-term damage by staying focused on resolving the dispute, rather than creating enemies.
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Mr. LaForce:
Thank you for your sensible commentary, but may I add quickly that TCH deliberately lied to the media during these sensitive negotiations.
As a health care worker in the federal sector and a Union Steward, I would find this activity to be a deal breaker, one that I believe a trained person like yourself would want to bring to TCH’s attention.
I couldn’t agree more that “creating enemies” is counterproductive, but the ‘dissemination of untruths’ tactics used mostly by the TCH spokespersons were the “first punches” in the debate.
I guess what I am saying is, Sir, I am hopeful that you are pitching the same message to TCH management officials. If one considers, as you have stated, that there are sins on both sides, there surely have been greater degrees of wrongs committed by TCH, not MNA.
I’ve been carefully reading both websites postings, and I am amazed by the double-mindedness exhibited by TCH, openly and without shame, on their website. They claim that “…all of the health care systems are committed to negotiating a contract that is fair to our employees…” but then came Ms. Schriner’s outright lies on TV regarding, for example, patient ratios and the clear data that exists in support of such staffing ratios, as shown in California.
If management is willing to purposefully distort the facts to achieve their own ends, then it seems patently unfair to ask MNA Nurses to “forgive and forget” in the name of workplace harmony. The first step ought to be that TCH admits to MNA that it committed unfair labor practices and committed affronts against the Nurses and the Public by making misleading and even untrue public statements.
My hope is that you will require such concessions of TCH.
Thanks again for your attempts to bring both parties together when the dust settles, Mr. LaForce.
Michael, thank you for your comments. My article was aimed at everyone involved in the dispute.