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West Michigan Works
Randy Boileau, Executive Director of West Michigan Works, last week sent letters regarding the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) to Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. Attached to each letter was a column published in Politico from Florida Republican Senator Mel Martinez. You can read the letter below and you can read Senator Martinez’s column here.
May 22, 2009
Senator Carl Levin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
269 Russell Office Building
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2202
Dear Sen. Levin and Stabenow:
Please take a moment to read through the enclosed opinion column by Senator Mel Martinez, which was published yesterday on the website Politico. Senator Martinez offers a simple, concise viewpoint on the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, a viewpoint which better represents the views of your business constituents across the State of Michigan than any position on this bad bill that either of you have so far taken.
Perhaps you could consider the simple facts presented in Sen. Martinez’s column and in doing so reconsider your support of this job killing legislation. We’ve had enough jobs killed in Michigan already, I hope you both would agree.
Sincerely,
Randolph M. Boileau
Executive Director
West Michigan Works
West Michigan Works
People from all across the Holland/Zeeland Community this week signed their names to a full page advertisement in the Holland Sentinel, affirming the privacy and democratic values of our community. To view the ad in pdf form, click here.
West Michigan Works
Business Review West Michigan has published an opinion piece by West Michigan Works Executive Director Randy Boileau on the undemocratic nature of neutrality agreements and card check in union organizing.
West Michigan Works
It’s disappointing to learn that the United Autoworkers Union may be demanding that Johnson Controls turn over the names, addresses and telephone numbers of employees at the company’s Southview joint venture operation.
The reason the UAW wants that information, we’ve read, is so the union can organize employees at the plant using card check, under the terms of a so-called “neutrality agreement” the union had with the bankrupt former operator of the Southview plant.
When neutrality agreements and card check first came to light five years ago, West Michigan Works took the position that they were wrong for employees and wrong for the Holland/Zeeland community. Our position has not changed.
We hold this position because these tactics are undemocratic--they rob employees of the chance to vote in a secret-ballot election on an issue of vital importance to their futures. They are wrong because they deny employees the opportunity for an open discussion on the reality of union organization, limiting them instead to the sales pitch from union organizers.
They are wrong because they violate employee privacy. In July 2004, dozens of leading Holland/Zeeland companies joined a West Michigan Works effort to protect employee privacy by pledging not to release employees’ personal information to any third party without employees’ knowledge and consent, or unless required to do so by law…
In the end, neutrality agreements and card check are wrong because they so completely contradict the values of open communication and collaborative, cooperative workplaces that are so deeply ingrained in our community. The idea of people being pressured to sign a union authorization card--at work, at home or in other places--runs inherently counter to who we are as a community.
We don’t know why the UAW has taken such a sudden interest in our community. If employees at the Southview plant desire union representation, then they deserve a full and open discussion about its costs and benefits. They deserve the chance to vote for or against it in a secret ballot election that respects their decision and protects their privacy.
Whatever the dynamics involved in this current issue, West Michigan Works does not support the use of neutrality agreements and card check union organizing campaigns as a fair approach for employees, or as tactics that are consistent with the values of our community.
West Michigan Works
In a paid advertisement published last week in the Holland Sentinel, the National Right To Work Foundation contends that the United Autoworkers Union is attempting to organize employees at Johnson Controls’ Southview joint venture plant under the terms of a pre-existing “neutrality agreement.” The ad warns that the union is pressuring the company to release employee names, addresses and telephone numbers so that union organizers can carry out home visits and other “card-check” tactics to push union organization at the plant. To see the full ad, click here.
West Michigan Works
America’s greatness derives from our democratic ideals. In a democracy, everyone has the right to vote for what they think is best for their family, community and country.
Because these democratic principles are so central to us as a nation and a community, West Michigan Works firmly opposes the misleadingly-named “Employee Free Choice Act.”
This bill (EFCA, H.R. 800) remains under consideration in Washington, and political observers believe it is highly likely the bill could be enacted early next year. The bill would fundamentally change the union organizing process in America and would strip workers of their fundamental right to vote for or against union representation in a secret ballot election.
Replacing secret ballot elections would be a “card-check” process, in which union organizers would ask employees to sign a card expressing interest in union representation. If the union obtains signed cards from a majority of employees, there will be no election; the company will be forced to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining agent of its non-management employees.
This is a system loaded with the potential for abuse. There are no rules or restrictions on how signatures may be obtained: Employees can be pressured to sign a card at work, at home or any place else. And once an employee has signed a card, there is no mechanism in place for that employee to withdraw his or her authorization and have the card returned.
West Michigan businesses enjoy healthy relationships between employers and employees based on respect, trust and working together toward the common goal of building the best products and maintaining the best working environment possible. We are concerned that pressure tactics and union organizing by intimidation will be an inevitable result of card check legislation, and those outcomes are not consistent with the values of the Holland/Zeeland community.
We believe card check legislation is wrong for employees, wrong for our community and wrong for our country. Every employee should have the right to a secret-ballot vote on whether or not they want union representation. Anything less represents a serious erosion of our most cherished principles.
West Michigan Works
The fourth annual Labor Day Truck Parade was the biggest ever, with over 50 trucks from local businesses rumbling through downtown Zeeland and Holland. Over 1,500 spectators turned out to watch the parade and participate in the ice cream social and prize giveaways that followed at the Holland Civic Center. The parade, quickly becoming a West Michigan Labor Day tradition, was covered by television, newspapers and radio media.
West Michigan Works created this event to celebrate the great companies and hard-working employees who make our community so successful and the collaborative relationships they enjoy. Labor Day is the perfect holiday for this recognition. The trucks represent the products and services that area businesses send out locally, nationally and all over the world, everyday. See pictures of the event in our new photo gallery.
Editorial | The Grand Rapids Press
Anti-democratic union-backed proposal in Congress would end secret ballots for organizing workers.
Union leaders, concerned about their diminishing ranks, are pushing for a new federal law that would give them unfair advantage in recruiting members. The bill, misnamed the Employee Free Choice Act, is stalled in the Senate and, thank goodness, will not likely come up again this election year.
That’s the right fate for it. The proposed law would do away with employee secret ballots in union organizing drives, a fundamental anti-democratic step for a supposedly democratic country. However, this year’s legislative delay likely will not be the last word, especially since union leader have made the bill a top priority. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee, is a co-sponsor the legislation. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee opposes it.
Right now, when 30 percent of employees in a workplace sign cards approving of a union, the law requires and election by secret ballot, if the employer demands it. Generally, privacy is preserved. The election is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
Under the proposed revision to the law, a union could form when a majority of works sing a card check-off. Secret ballots for union organization would become a quaint bit of history.
The secret ballot is a hallowed tradition in other contexts. Voters in November will be able to enter a polling booth, pull a curtain and make their decisions without fear or influence. That basic freedom from harassment is the reason ballot secrecy is so fiercely protected at all levels of government.
Opposition for the proposed law came largely form Republicans; support has come mostly from Democrats. The bill passed the House last year but was opposed by Republican Reps. Vernon Ehlers of Grand Rapids, Peter Hoekstra of Holland, David Camp of Midland and Fred Upton of St. Joseph. Supporters in the Senate included Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. But their backing was not enough to produce the 60 votes needed to move the measure foreword.
Union membership has fallen dramatically in the last 30 years. In 1980, 20 percent of workers were unionized. Today, only 12 percent belong to unions. Take away government employees, and the number of unionized workers is just over 7 percent.
Union leaders believe the current system is stacked against them claiming that employers intimidate workers during membership drives. If that is true, Congress should look for more proportional remedies. This bill swings things much too far in the wrong direction, opening the door to harassment and intimidation of workers by union organizers. Even long-time labor supporters such as form presidential candidate George McGovern, recognize the dangers inherent in this plan.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. McGovern decried the Employee Free Choice Act as running “counter to ideals that were once at the core of the labor movement. Instead of providing a voice for the unheard, EFCA risks silencing those who would speak.”
That would be a travesty, one members of the next Congress - and the next president - should soundly reject.
West Michigan Works
Magna International, the Canadian-based which owns locally based Magna Donnelly, announced recently that it has reached an agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) that will allow the union to quickly and easily unionize Magna operations throughout Canada.
Though employees at Magna plants will still need to approve union representation through elections, the company will welcome the union’s organizing efforts in exchange for a no-strike pledge from the union. In our view, the net effect of the agreement is the same as the neutrality agreements signed by a number of large automotive suppliers. That is, people will be asked to make major decisions about their futures without the benefit of an open, honest conversation about the realities of union representation.
At this point it’s not known what impact the agreement will have on Magna’s U.S. operations, such as Magna Donnelly. If Magna does extend its neutrality approach to its U.S. operations, we hope people in our community will take the time to learn the facts before they decide on issue so important to their future.
West Michigan Works
The third annual West Michigan Works Labor Day Parade again drew hundreds of people as nearly 50 trucks from area employers made their way through downtown Zeeland and Holland and ended up at the Holland Civic Center parking lot. The event celebrated West Michigan’s great employers, their workforce, and the collaborative relationships they enjoy. View photos of the event in our photo gallery.
West Michigan Works
The second West Michigan Works Labor Day Truck Parade featured nearly 50 trucks from area employers, crowds of people lining the streets in downtown Zeeland and Holland, and more than 500 people enjoying free food and prizes at the end-of-parade celebration. Many thanks to the companies who participated in the event. View event photos in our photo gallery, and read the press release below
News Release
Contact: Randy Boileau, 616.786.4461
Labor Day Truck Parade Back - and Bigger - for Second YearHolland, MI - The second West Michigan Works Labor Day Truck Parade will feature more trucks, an expanded parade route that includes downtown Zeeland and Holland, and more free food and prizes at the end-of-parade celebration.
A convoy including a Tiara yacht and more than 30 trucks from area employers will travel from Zeeland to Holland on Monday, September 4. The event is sponsored by West Michigan Works and the cities of Holland and Zeeland.
“Last year, the drivers and the people attending the event loved it, and they all wanted us to do it again this year,” said Bruce Los, president of West Michigan Works.
The convoy of trucks (and a yacht!) will make its way from the start of the route in Zeeland, through Downtown Zeeland on Main Street and on to Downtown Holland along Eighth Street. The trucks will end up in the Holland Civic Center parking lot, where they will be on display. At the Civic Center there will also be free ice cream, hot dogs and prizes for people to enjoy.
“Labor Day is the perfect day each year to celebrate the great companies and hard-working people who have made our community so successful,” Los said. “We want to showcase the wonderful products and services that we make and send all over the world and the people who make it happen.”
The parade of trucks will depart from Herman Miller in Zeeland at approximately 9 a.m. Bystanders are invited to view the parade along Main Street in Zeeland between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. and along Eighth Street through downtown Holland between 9:45 and 10:00 a.m.
Area companies participating in the event include: A.D. Bos, Boar’s Head, Cedar Crest Dairy, Empire Lumber, EST Testing Solutions, Extol, Gentex, Haworth, Herman Miller, Hope College, Hudsonville Ice Cream Co., Innotec, ITW Drawform, Macatawa Bank, ODL, Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Company, Royal Plastics, Shoreline Container, Tiara Yachts, Transmatic, Trendway, Uniform Color, West Michigan Office Interiors, West Michigan Uniform, Windquest and Zeeland Lumber and Supply.
West Michigan Works is a coalition of area businesses and community leaders dedicated to creating jobs and building economic opportunities in the Holland/Zeeland community. Above all, we are committed to building on our area’s successes and giving our community even more reasons to be proud—by strengthening those basic things that make West Michigan work.
West Michigan Works
Holland, MI. - West Michigan Works applauds two Holland companies - Fleetwood Group, Inc., and Trendway Corporation - for their employee ownership programs. Both members of West Michigan Works, the companies have made headlines recently for their efforts to allow employees to share in the growth and success of their respective companies - a principle West Michigan Works strongly supports.
In May, Trendway Corporation announced it had established an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) for 25 percent of the company’s value. Don Heeringa, Trendway chairman, said he established the ESOP to formalize the participative management culture already prevalent throughout the company, to increase performance and operational excellence, and to reinforce and strengthen the team environment.
“These companies provide great examples of one of our community’s core values: Positive workplace relationships between employers and employees,” said West Michigan Works Executive Director Randy Boileau. “We are very proud of them both.”
Later in May, Fleetwood Group was honored by the ESOP Association as the winner of its 2006 National Company of the Year Award. The company is the first Michigan company to receive the national award. The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOP). Fleetwood introduced the ESOP in 1975, making it one of the oldest ESOP companies in the country. It became 100 percent employee owned in 1998 and is currently one of only 2,000 organizations in the country to be 100 percent employee-owned.
Fleetwood President and CEO Doug Ruch said he is “confident employee ownership represents the best way to run our company and provides Fleetwood with a crucial competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”
West Michigan Works will recognize the two companies in correspondence sent to all its member organizations, as well as on its website. Both companies also were featured in the West Michigan Works publication about best practices in employee communication, which can be read at www.westmichiganworks.org.
West Michigan Works
Thanks to the initiative and generosity of West Michigan Works member company Shoreline Container, the new West Michigan Works logo can now be spotted traveling the highways of West Michigan and beyond. Shoreline Container printed the logo on the trailers of their fleet of trucks to spread the word about West Michigan Works. View photos here.
West Michigan Works
The business section of the Holland Sentinel on August 17, 2005 featured a full-page West Michigan Works advertisement thanking Tiara Yachts for the company’s decision to bring more than 400 new jobs to our community. View the ad.
West Michigan Works
West Michigan Works is one of the sponsors of an important Holland-area initiative to encourage parents to become more involved in their children’s schools. A group of local parents and volunteers are leading the initiative, and the Holland Area Chamber, Lakeshore Advantage and the Ottawa County Workforce Development Board have joined West Michigan Works as sponsors. An important first step in the initiative is the workplace display of two attractive posters bearing a simple, powerful message: Everyone benefits when parents get involved.
We are encouraging West Michigan Works members to post copies of the posters on lunch room bulletin boards and other locations where they will be visible to employees. To see what the posters look like, click here (PDF | 939 KB) and here (PDF | 1.27 MB). Copies of the posters are available at the front desk of the Holland Chamber, or, contact Randy Boileau at and he’ll be happy to provide you with as many copies as you would like.
More parental involvement leads to stronger schools. Stronger schools lead to a better-educated, better-prepared workforce. Please help us support this initiative by displaying the involvement posters prominently in your facilities.
West Michigan Works
West Michigan Works has released the latest publication in its ongoing Strength Through Knowledge initiative - an effort to capture and share the value of the workplace “best practices” that have contributed to long-term growth and success in the Holland/Zeeland community. Our first publication highlighted the area of internal communications. In our latest publication, area employers share the lessons they have learned in lean manufacturing and participative management.
Communications Key Findings
Click here to read the entire Best Practices Communications web paper.
1. Employees value face-to-face communication with company leadership.
2. An open public forum for employees to voice their questions and concerns is crucial to fending off the rumor mill.
3. Good communication takes commitment to setting a plan and following it.
4. Informed employees are more productive employees.Face-to-face communications
Successful communications strategies all include some element of personal, face-to-face communication between employees and company leadership. Whether it be lunch with the boss or a pizza party, numerous workplace studies have shown that employees value this kind of interaction.
Open forum
Employees have questions and concerns. And without a forum to air them, they will come out in much less desirable ways.
Commitment to sustained activities
Good communication takes commitment to setting a plan and following it. Companies do not have the time for these efforts; they make the time. They have channels and processes in place and use them systematically. By being consistent with their programs, they build credibility and avoid “flavor of the month” thinking.
Informed employees are more productive employees
The higher the level of business literacy within an organization, the higher the quality of employee ideas, cooperation and participation. All are intended to make sure there is no communications vacuum, because something will always flow in to fill a vacuum. Rumors and speculation can be true productivity killers. Effective communications strategies are essential for making companies competitive, which is essential to creating jobs.
Lean Processes and Employee Involvement: Transforming West Michigan Manufacturing
Click here to read the entire Lean Processes and Employee Involvement: Transforming West Michigan Manufacturing web paper.
Summary
Two principles, although they are not new, are transforming the way business is done in West Michigan - lean manufacturing and participative management.In speaking with experts across West Michigan about these two principles, we have found several common best practices that aid in their implementation and long-term success. We also have found agreement on one truth that makes the West Michigan business community stand out: When compared at a state or national level, Holland/Zeeland companies have a distinct advantage in the implementation of lean manufacturing processes because of the cooperative workplace environments that are embedded in our community. The companies that are thriving in 10 years will be doing so because they embraced lean manufacturing and participative management practices and used them to their competitive advantage.
Key findings
1. Company leadership must set lean manufacturing as a priority in order for it to be effective. Then, it must infiltrate the entire organization as a total organizational and cultural shift.
2. Lean manufacturing will not be successful without employee understanding and participation.
3. An incentive process for small, incremental improvements is crucial.
4. When in doubt, focus on fundamentals.
5. Experience at West Michigan companies shows that companies who embrace lean principles will see results including reduced costs and improved productivity.
6. Lean is a journey. You’re never finished.
If you would like more information about the ideas highlighted here, please contact us at .
West Michigan Works
Holland, MI - West Michigan Works today announced the release of the latest publication in its ongoing Strength Through Knowledge initiative. Called “Lean Processes and Employee Involvement: Transforming West Michigan Manufacturing,” the article features employers’ best practices in the areas of lean manufacturing and participative management.
Randy Boileau
Workers in the Holland/Zeeland area heard a heartfelt “thank you” from West Michigan Works over Labor Day weekend 2004. View photos in our gallery of the campaign that swept the community by land, air and water. View a full-page ad that sends the “thank you” message. You also may read a press release about what happened during the campaign.
Press Release: Message Of Thanks To Blanket Holland/Zeeland Community
Holland, MI - By land, air, and water, one local coalition of businesses and community leaders is planning on letting workers in the area know they are appreciated this Labor Day weekend with one simple, yet uniquely delivered message: Thank you.
West Michigan Works, the group promoting the campaign, is going to blanket the Holland/Zeeland community this weekend with a message of thanks to thousands of dedicated area employees. The campaign features outdoor billboards, newspaper advertisements, yard signs, airplane banners and water bottles - all containing two words that can mean so much to people who work hard every day: “thank you.”
“The Holland/Zeeland area is a special place. It is a community rooted in pride in our past and faith in our future, and for good reason,” said Bruce Los, president of West Michigan Works. “It is the work of the men and women who show up on the job every day at our great local companies that has made our community so successful. It is that same commitment that will help us continue to grow and succeed. West Michigan Works wants to celebrate our hard-earned success and reach as many people as we can this holiday weekend just to say thanks.”
Just how will people see these signs of appreciation? Here’s a snapshot of what to look for:
A billboard on Lakewood Boulevard with the words “Thank You” and the West Michigan Works logo will run throughout the entire month of September.
Many motorists will also notice the 300 “thank you” yard signs placed along the property lines at area businesses.
Full-page newspaper ads will carry the “thank you” message.
“Thanks Tanks” filled with ice-cold bottles of water, with the “thank you” message on the label, will be placed at area boat ramps on Labor Day.
And probably most visible to Lakeshore residents this weekend will be the Labor Day airplane fly-by above the community pulling a banner with the simple, yet powerful words “thank you” spelled out in 5-foot red lettering.
Randy Boileau
Holland/Zeeland Area Companies Unite to Protect Employee Privacy
Holland, MI. July 29, 2004—Some of the leading companies in the Holland/Zeeland business community have joined a West Michigan Works effort to protect employee privacy by refusing to release employees’ personal information to any third party without employees’ knowledge and consent.
“We know this initiative confirms the practice of protecting employee privacy already in place at most area employers,” said West Michigan Works Executive Director Randy Boileau. “We’re encouraging companies to take the next step by confirming this commitment through West Michigan Works.”
The employers have adopted—or plan to soon adopt—a written policy stating that an employee’s home address, telephone number, Social Security number, wage rate and earnings will not be voluntarily released to any third party without the employee’s prior, written authorization. Recent changes in laws governing telephone solicitation, junk e-mail and reporting of medical information have focused national attention on personal privacy issues. Although most Holland/Zeeland employers do practice the safekeeping of private employee information, the adoption of a formal, written policy will institutionalize those practices. As a result, employees can be confident that information about them and their families is protected.
“These days, when it seems more and more difficult for all of us to maintain our personal privacy, efforts such as this are even more critical,” said Rob Sligh, chairman of Holland-based Sligh Furniture Co. and member of West Michigan Works. “Protecting the private information regarding employees and their families that companies accumulate over the course of their employment comes down to trust. And trust is something we believe is a critical component of a positive workplace.”
West Michigan Works is a working coalition of employers, community leaders and other people from across the Holland/Zeeland area. The group is focused on life and work issues in the community with an emphasis on working actively to preserve the Holland/Zeeland traditions of job growth and opportunity.
Among the companies joining in the employee privacy initiative to date are:
Big Dutchman
Environmental Screening Technologies
Gentex
Haworth
Holland USA
Manpower
Mercantile Bank
Perrigo
Primera Plastics
Royal Plastics
Shoreline Container
Sligh Furniture Co.
Tiara Yachts
Trans-Matic Mfg.
Trendway
Uniform Color Company
West Michigan Office Interiors
Woodland Realty
Worden Company
Other Holland/Zeeland employers who also are interested in joining this important work may contact West Michigan Works at or 616-616.786.4461. Attached is a sample of how some companies are communicating this policy to employees.
In addition to the employee privacy initiative, West Michigan Works also has launched the Strength Through Knowledge initiative, an innovative program designed to capture and share the workplace “best practices” that have contributed to long-term growth and success in the Holland/Zeeland community.
Read a sample of how some companies are communicating this policy.
Privacy Policy (sample)
To: All EmployeesSubject: New Privacy Policy
As your employer, we believe that trust is a critical component of a positive, successful workplace. One of the things you have entrusted to the company is the private, personal information regarding you and your family that the company has accumulated over the course of your employment.
For example, information such as your name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, wage rate and earnings are all a part of your record of employment. This is information the company must have to administer your wages and benefits. We believe that this information should be protected, and should not be voluntarily released to any third party without your prior, written authorization. In some cases, such as a court-ordered release or as otherwise required by law, we must comply. But if any unauthorized parties ask for this information, our pledge to you is that we will not voluntarily provide it without your knowledge and permission.
These days, when it seems ever more difficult for all of us to maintain our personal privacy, we are very pleased to announce the implementation of this policy, effective immediately, which will safeguard the right to privacy for all of our employees. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact your human resources representative.