One experience led this business founder to be pro-union. This is it.

From 1989-91, I worked for one of the largest employers in the world — Honeywell — with one of the largest unions in the world — the Teamsters.

I was pretty low in the org chart but my boss, Marv Granath, reported to the CEO and so I got to work on some pretty interesting matters and learn from some pretty amazing people. One of the first things that I learned was that our management loved, loved, loved having the Teamsters as the dominant union in our manufacturing facilities.

Why? Because safety was a massive issue with the kind of manufacturing we were doing (landmines, fuel-air explosives, ammunition, heads-up displays for fighter jets, computers, thermostats, etc.). The Teamsters were at least as passionate about safety so when we needed an electrician for Facility XYZ, they brought in the best electrician who would work in the safest manner. And when one employee felt that he (it was always a he) deserved special treatment, it was his foreman who would set him straight and point to the collective bargaining agreement.

The relationship between management and union was a partnership. There were certainly some contentious negotiations and that’s fine. The union powerfully advocated for their members, as they should have. And management powerfully argued for the shareholders, as it should have. But together they repeatedly created win-win scenarios for all.