Fort Wayne, Ind. (June 17, 2010) — The Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance is in the early stages of trying to arrange an initiative involving Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne that would enhance business-labor relations and seek organized labor’s support in creating and retaining jobs in the region.
The precise structure of the initiative is unclear at this point, but Andi Udris, president of the alliance, said IPFW experts would serve as facilitators for both planning the initiative and future mediation discussions between specific businesses and labor.
IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell said the university stands ready to help in any way it can.
“This would provide a nonthreatening venue for business and labor to meet behind closed doors and discuss whatever they want without going out and having to spread it all over the press,” he said. “It would give them a set of experts who can help them work out their problems. And finally, discussion is better than a fistfight.”
Reaction to the proposed initiative from two labor leaders, who said they hadn’t yet been approached by economic development officials, was sharply mixed.
Orval Plumlee, president of United Auto Workers Local 2209, said he is interested in learning more about the proposal.
“Actually,” he said, “I believe it would be an excellent idea. I like what it sounds like. There was a day when there was a very definite line drawn in the sand. But those days have passed with the one-world economy.
“We all know we’re in a fight for survival. The unions realize you don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.”
Tom Lewandowski, president of the AFL-CIO’s Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council, was decidedly less enthusiastic.
Asked if he would be interested in listening to the proposal, Lewandowski responded: “The real question is: Are they interested in listening to the common and working people?
“I think working people need to be represented and they haven’t been represented. The lives and aspirations of workers have not been part of economic development. In the public discussion that goes on in Fort Wayne, there’s been a noticeable silence regarding the needs of working and common people.
“They (economic development officials) have been talking for a long time. It may be time for them to listen. We’re not interested in spending time making nice. We want to make a difference in the lives of people. I’m tired of public relations.
“Their frame of reference is not our frame of reference. We’ve got people who are angry, who are frustrated, who are desperate.”
Udris said Lewandowski’s comments underscore the need for the initiative.
“I understand his perspective,” Udris said, “and that’s why we want to reach out and talk.”
Organized labor represents about 13 percent of the work force in the Fort Wayne area, Udris said.
He said one of the factors that is inhibiting economic growth is the perception that those union workers and business do not get along. It is a perception, he said, that discourages businesses from relocating to the region.
“One of the goals,” Udris said, “is to share experiences and viewpoints and determine how we can move forward so we are perceived by the outside world as a great place to bring jobs and raise a family.”
Don Schenkel, vice president of university relations at the University of Saint Francis, is heading an Alliance government and labor relations committee that will tackle the initiative planning.
Schenkel said he believes “the business community can be more proactive in assisting management and labor relations. Because we can always get better. We’re never perfect. I think we have to work together in the best interests of the community.
“My only goal is to get labor and management to talk for the community in the interest of creating jobs. I just believe that if you have a team approach to anything, you can win. But if you have adversarial positions, no one can win.”
Schenkel said the next step is to form a group of representatives from business, government and organized labor to begin planning the scope of the initiative.
“What we’re looking for at the end of the day,” said Udris, “is for business to say, ‘Hey, Fort Wayne has an excellent labor-management program. That organized labor and management truly do get along and are competitive, productive and bottom-line profitable.”
Added Wartell: “Let’s work out our problems before we have problems. Let’s develop trust instead of walking into the room distrustful. Let’s create a supportive environment rather than a confrontational environment.”