The Wisdom of Workers

Before I became a management consultant, I started my professional life as an electrician.  Developing from an apprentice to the level of journeyman in a little more than four years, I learned that craft unions are not the same as labor unions.  Craft unions add value by developing a balance of knowledge, skills and experiences of its members.  

Indeed there is a great deal management can learn from a little experience with a craft union.  For example, it is broadly accepted in the crafts and trades that a journeyman can do far more with old tools, than an apprentice can with the latest tools.  Most managers believe the opposite is true.

The relationship between management and workers has a long standing conflict that begins with the rationalization of slavery.  But times have changed.  Because workers bring knowledge, skill and experience to an organization, logically, the relationship with the organization must be that of a stakeholder providing a service partnership.