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The Northwest Ohio Center for Labor Management Cooperation (NOCLMC) at The University of Toledo, in existence since 1986, serves 26 counties in northwest Ohio. Many organizations that contact this statewide center for assistance have been on the threshold of closing or leaving northwest Ohio. The center’s first client in 1986 was the Jeep plant. Overall, every organization the center has worked with has increased production, number of employees, capital improvements and worldwide competitiveness.
The center’s annual conferences have highlighted national presenters such as Robert Eaton, formerly of the Chrysler Corporation and Owen Bieber, former President of the United Auto Workers. Recently Ron Gettelfinger, the current president of the United Auto Workers and Edward Bocik of Honeywell, made presentations at the annual conference. The center’s services continue to be sought after by various industries including St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Each year the center works intensively with management and labor establishing customized cooperative processes. The center’s staff members are qualified change agents, trainers, and facilitators recruited from the labor-management community’s private sector. The center has a strong commitment to labor-management cooperation, which has fostered strong ties in northwest Ohio including the Working Council for Employee Involvement (WCEI). WCEI provides up to 25 experienced, hands-on trainers to the center every year to assist in conducting assessments, steering committee off-site development, workshops, presentations, and individual expertise providing more than 400 volunteer hours each year.
This strong volunteer base is a primary factor that allows the center to provide services on a cost-recovery basis. The center’s advisory board believes this to be very integral to the neutrality and success of the center and sends a clear message that the center’s mission is to provide quality service. Each organization that receives assistance is asked to become a volunteer for the center and assist launching other organizations on the path to cooperation. Through the auspices of the center, plant managers, union presidents, quality liaisons, trainers and facilitators from the various facilities mentor others as well as speak at functions. The center’s network and volunteer support allows organizations to shorten the learning curve and become increasingly more competitive in a shorter period of time. The statistics tell the story. Since its inception, the center report shows that 619 organizations attended workshops, 200 organizations attended conferences, 88 organizations attended networking meetings, 72 organizations have received recognition awards from the center for their volunteerism, 103 organizations had 522 process facilitators trained through the center, 140 organizations have received assessments, and 144 steering committees have been developed.
The center has awarded 20 EI (employee involvement) Flag Awards in northwest Ohio for exemplary labor-management joint processes. The flag recipients are an elite group and includes DaimlerChrysler Jeep, DaimlerChrysler Toledo Machining, Honeywell International in Fostoria, Johnson Controls in Holland, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Mold & Die in Carey, Ford Motor Company in Maumee, New Mather Metals in Toledo, and General Motors in Toledo.