by Mike Hall, May 17, 2008

Relations between workers and employers don’t always have to be hostile and contentious. Yesterday, two awards at the 2008 America@Work Union Industries Show in Detroit prove that when corporations respect workers, everyone wins.

International Specialty Products (ISP) in Calvert City, Ky., and General Motors Powertrain (GMPT) in Defiance, Ohio, were honored with the 2008 Union Label and Service Trades Department’s (UL&STD’s) annual Labor-Management Awards.

Says UL&STD President Charles Mercer:

These two firms represent the best of modern labor-management cooperation, providing work environments that invite pride and participation among their workers while producing competitive products for a global marketplace.

Each year, the department selects firms that—through their commitment to collective bargaining, training and cooperation—establish a work environment that encourages positive labor-management relations.

Some 500 Machinists (IAM) members work at ISP Chemicals manufacturing materials for pharmaceuticals and the beauty and personal care industry. Plant management and the union leadership attribute ISP’s success—50 years in the business—and positive labor relations to the company’s intensive training practices, which emphasize quality, production, environmental concerns and safety.

At GMPT, more than 1,800 UAW members work at the massive—2 million square feet—plant that supplies GM factories in 11 locations with engine blocks, cylinder heads and crankshafts for multiple GM products.

The quality, efficiency and productivity of the UAW workers at the Defiance plant were key factors in a corporate decision to bring production of GM’s Duramax Diesel block out of Germany and into the

Five years ago the UAW and management negotiated changes that created a new team concept that helped bring new business to the plant. Mercer says that action then

built a bridge between young workers and those near retirement, encouraging input from the workers and creating a new role for management that enable them to act as a resource for worker teams to achieve their goals.

The annual awards are based on a company’s commitment to collective bargaining, training and cooperation—and establishment of a work environment that encourages positive labor-management relations.

Also yesterday, the UL&STD presented certificates of appreciation to K&R Industries, nominated by the Mine Workers (UMWA), and to Schreiber Corp., nominated by the United Union of Roofers and Waterproofers—both runners up for the 2008 award.

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