Mr Michael R. Losey, SPHR, CAE

Thank you so much for your web site's comprehensive and wonderful summary of the EU - US Conference held recently in Washington, D.C.

It was great hearing your presentation, which was not only of high quality but also emphasized the important role that organized labor (or labour) can play in workforce issues.

As Pepe Abargues, from Ford Spain, highlighted the vast majority of all employed disabled people became disabled during their period of employment --- either by personal non-occupational illness or injury or occupational. When union representation exists, as you suggest, it is the shared responsibility of management, the union and the employee to address disability issues as they relate to each and every disabled employee. Also, as Steven Korte, from A & F Wood Products, suggested, the major employer cost is only "time." In other words, time for those personalized and individualized discussions necessary for making reasonable accommodations at the workforce for the disabled.

For those possibly skeptical about the role of organized labor in disability management, I would like to remind people that an early effort of labor-management cooperation was the establishment of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). In the U.S. at least, unions were repeatedly confronted with the dilemma of providing representation, for instance, to employees being disciplined for absenteeism when, in fact the underlying problem was alcoholism. It was the unions who suggested a more affirmative approach to get to the root problem -- and as we now know a problem even family members cannot usually effectively address.

But the employer holds the final prize. The JOB! Suggesting that whatever non-job issues are affecting the employee's conduct and performance must change, or else, is a powerful employee motivator. Providing a confidential arm's length employer sponsored tool/process has proven to be much better than dealing with such issues via summary discharge. Such employer – labor cooperation not only touched people's lives but also was a meaningful contributor to general employee and labor relations, safety on the job, productivity, quality, etc.

I will recommend to the U.S. Department of Labor that we consider how we can get the AFL-CIO, or some union that is doing a good job in the area of workforce disability management, to participate in future meetings.

Finally, as you know, the percentage of union members in the U.S. private (non-governmental) sector is only about 8% at the present time and down from a 1950s high-water mark of about 33%. (Note: In our governmental sector --- local, state and federal government --- it is still about 33%.) But organized labor's role, especially with larger employers in older industries, is still very important.

Mike Losey

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