Employee Involvement in Seattle: Reengineering Government in a City Lacking a Financial Crisis

Abstract

Without fiscal pressure, but with a clamor for re-engineering and service reform reverberating, the usually progressive Seattle began an improved labor-management relations effort through a series of project teams sponsored by departmental joint-labor management committees. The aim was to save costs and improve service. Unlike the other examples in this issue, Seattle didn't start with bargaining improvement or conflict resolution in mind, nor did it begin with a large and visible project like health care or a civic arena. Seattle started with a simple but ambitious plan, sponsored by labor and management, to create the capacity to set up well-structured ad hoc joint teams to attack potential savings and improvements under the umbrella of joint committees in each department. Cost savings and improvements came from such diverse services as the electric utility, the parks department, fleet maintenance, the municipal court and animal control. The resulting Employee Involvement Committees can discuss any issue, other than wage and benefits, that relates to services improvement. A citywide oversight committee helps to share lessons and to help put issues relevant to bargaining into play in the proper forum. With the help of a U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) grant, Seattle and the coalition of unions jointly built training and administrative capacity to ensure success. The grant and the city support expanded the number of management and union leaders involved with constructive problem solving.

Over two dozen involvement committees were launched and made progress within a year, and many departmental joint committees were started or revitalized. The results of the EICs and related arrangements led to and created enthusiasm for expansive changes in the labor-management relationship. These innovative arrangements were also expected to affect the bargaining climate and a broader range of workplace, service and cost items. In a dramatic broadening of these early efforts, the city formed a city-level Labor Management Leadership Committee with key representatives from the city council, the mayor's office and cabinet department. The Seattle example, partly an alternative to managed competition, shows the possibilities in starting small, building capacity, focusing on service through joint efforts, and seeing the expanded trust moving to other aspects of the relationship and creating greater opportunities for improvement. This jointly authored perspective brings insight to understanding how the EICs became a successful event and an effective catalyst for broader change.