Champions @ Work
Champions at Work: Employment, Workplace Practices and Labor-Management Relations in Western New York is a study conducted by the Western Region of Cornell University's ILR School, in cooperation with Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and the WNY AFL-CIO Economic Development Group, with the support of New York State. Released in September 2000, the 97-page report is a regional assessment, a benchmark designed to inform enterprise and regional development. It is called Champions at Work because the findings clearly indicate that in workplace practices, labor relations, and workforce quality, Western New York is a world-class region.
With original empirical evidence from a representative survey of private sector employers and unions, Champions at Work documents the high quality of the area’s workforce, the advanced state of high performance workplace practices and the effectiveness of constructive labor relations. The Computer Assisted Survey Team (CAST) of Cornell University conducted the telephone survey of 377 employers and 123 unions in the eight counties of Western New York, collecting data on workplace practices from 1985 to the present.
Fifteen case studies of companies and unions from diverse sectors of the local economy complement the survey data, providing rich detail of particular competitive successes and collaborative job creation efforts. These private sector business and union leaders form a network of champions committed to advancing workplace innovations and economic development in the region.
These investigations reveal a dynamic of cooperation and constructive balancing of interests at the workplace that lead to ongoing productivity improvements and enhanced opportunities for participation. They confirm the results of other recent studies that unions contribute to the success of high-performance workplaces.
Champions @ Work is evidence of a high road economic development strategy based on innovation, quality, productivity and high-value in return for increased opportunity, high skills, good wages and working conditions.
