by Ann Hoyt, Board Member
Looking back, 2020 was a year our Co-op experienced significant changes in the way we operate, financial stress, changes in the grocery industry and expanding local competitors. An impact of these changes is a desire by our employees to have higher wages, improved benefits, employment stability, and input on organizational decisions. To accomplish these goals, they overwhelmingly voted to join a national labor union (the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, or UE).
Your current Board of Directors supported the employees’ right to vote to join UE. We want to ensure a safe and rewarding workplace and to ensure more organizational transparency. In a perfect world, it would be easy to reduce the disconnect between employees’ expectations and their experiences. But we are also required to ensure the financial stability of the Cooperative, protect the Owners’ investment and meet Owners’ expectations for healthy food, fair prices, local sourcing, and community support.
Becoming a unionized cooperative creates new requirements and expectations for your Board of Directors. Recognizing that, the Board decided to use our annual February retreat to learn more about directing in our new environment. We invited our Co-op attorney to the first of two virtual meetings which will constitute our retreat. The following reports on some of what we learned that day.
Mr. Anderson described the nature of unions, emphasizing their democratic structure. He described the respective legal roles of unions, management, and the Board in unionized organizations. He summarized the Board’s duties of loyalty, care, and obedience and stressed the importance of avoiding/disclosing any potential conflicts of interest a board member might have with interests of the cooperative. An important part of the discussion distinguished the differences between Board and management in relation to employee relations. Throughout the presentation Mr. Anderson emphasized the importance of employee satisfaction.
The advice I took from the presentation included: follow and respect the policies and decision-making structure relative to employees; listen carefully, but, unless authorized, I don’t speak for the Board; be clear about the changes in my role as a Director; be true to my loyalty and fiduciary duties; and identify any of my real or perceived conflicts of interest.
Given all of this, very good news was reported to the Board in mid-February. Since last May the Co-op has not had a Human Resources Director. After a lengthy search, Ms. Alysa Hartman was hired for the position. Alysa has 14 years of HR leadership experience. She will be employees’ main contact for personnel matters, benefits administration, and union relations, and will lead safety, training, hiring and diversity efforts.
Your Board recognizes we have work to do to build a strong collaborative unionized cooperative. In a 2015 Cooperative Grocer article Heather Wright wrote, “Addressing labor activity in the cooperative world is tough. Questioning how unions fit in the cooperative environment can create some internal conflict. Resolving this conflict requires deep deliberations and soul searching…. engaging in the evaluative process is the key to developing a strategy that embodies your Co-op’s unique values.” Your Board is committed to doing this work.