The Connecticut Vocational-Technical Schools Labor-Management Cooperative Effort Revisited

Abstract

Schools are a critical area for labor-management cooperation for reasons that need no elaboration. Some dramatic educational examples were identified by the Secretary of Labor's Task Force. The article contributed here from the educational arena focuses on a cooperative effort by labor and management in a vocational-technical system in Connecticut to reduce the instance and impact of student conflict. As a collaborative effort, jointly sponsored objectives and training were introduced to good result, making schools safer and more productive for teachers and students. Probably, a project that requires this level of teacher commitment and change in traditional methods could only succeed as a joint project. Hence, the lessons are especially valuable as we think of how to make changes in schools or any other service. As an article reporting on the results as a follow-up to an earlier piece in Public Personnel Management, this useful piece describes the Labor-Management Team's evolution and achievements in using a cooperative process to make decisions, overcome obstacles, measure results, plan for the future and ultimately begin to change the culture. The favorable results have generated interest in a possible application of conflict resolution methodology to labor contract administration and the grievance process.