New Book on Managing with Labor's Values by Ken Margolies
Manage Staff Without Being Like the Bosses Unions Fight
In 2021, an advisory committee of labor leaders to the Worker Institute were asked what training or information they needed that they were not getting. Those leaders asked for help so they could be better managers of staff. Based on this response the Worker Institute faculty developed workshops on how to manage effectively with the values unions advocate.
This became a new course offered by the Worker Institute called Managing with Labor’s Values. Public and customized versions of the course have been provided by the Worker Institute ever since, and hundreds of leaders and staff directors from various unions and social justice organizations had attended one or more of the workshops.
One of the original instructors and conceptualizers of these workshops is Ken Margolis. Margolis first joined a union, Teamsters Local 295, in 1968 while earning a BS from The School of Industrial and Labor Relations ILR at Cornell. He was National Director of the Communications Workers of America during the 1980’s. Margolis worked for The Worker Institute providing training, consulting, and research for unions and he helped launch the Managing with Labor's Values workshop series. He retired from the Worker Institute at Cornell in 2016.
The Worker Institute is excited to host a new book published by Margolies, that explores deeply the topic of Managing with Labor Values and the ways that it is critical that managers at unions and social justice organizations receive training to become effective leaders. The core values of Managing with Labor’s include treating staff with respect, being understanding and fair, and valuing their input. It includes making decisions as transparently as possible and acting with honesty and integrity. The book explores these themes and includes the lessons Margolies learned as well as feedback and advice from workshop instructors and participants.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MANAGING WITH LABORS VALUES COURSE
The Managing with Labors Values course offered by the Worker Institute at Cornell ILR School. Participants learn techniques for helping their staff succeed and respond appropriately to common issues while honoring the values of the labor movement.
(Dates for the next course will be added when they are available.)