Workforce
introduced themselves and promised labor’s help in delivering quality products. “We talked to the customers and the customers loved it,’’
Held recalled. “Ten we followed up with a letter, saying how much we enjoyed their visit. Te company took notice.” Both sides started taking “little risks” based on the idea that they should cooperate to better serve customers, said Lapp,
Te cooperative process continues under Art Titus, who re-
placed Casillo as chief operating officer in 2012. Titus said the process was at times difficult and remains a work in progress. “Te one thing to take away is you just don’t wave a magic
wand and say you are going to have great relationships. Te last three years have been pretty rocky. Tere were flareups. Tere were blowups. Tere were times when people threw
“Some people won’t let go of the past, but the fact is, the past was killing us.”
who slowly began to trust the union’s intentions. “I’ve got to credit the union for getting us back on track,” he said. “Tose guys came in with no preconceived ideas of what would work.” Having used the federal mediation service to help settle the
contract dispute, the union and company turned to the agency again for assistance. FMCS Commissioners Jacques Wood and Jack Yoedt provided training on problem-solving techniques and cultivating collaborative approaches to bargaining. Tey also explored mediation as an alternative to more expensive grievance arbitration. Te training included a Relationship by Objective (RBO)
program that began with the mediators separating the two sides in different rooms and asking each the same questions about their relationship. Te answers were similar and the participants realized they had more in common than they had in contention. Conducted offsite, the RBO training helped identify
problems, conflicts and concerns; find solutions; and develop action plans to address the problems. A separate training on mediation helped to clear the decks of the grievance backlog.
Opening Doors Te work environment has become less adversarial as a
result. Management, with the support of Ebara, opened their doors to the union, asking for advice, sharing business plans and consulting on supervisor hiring decisions. Management gained some flexibility from the union to move workers around the plant depending on skills and workload. To be fair, not everyone on either side—management or
union—is entirely happy with the new cooperative approach. But working together has clearly given hope for the future that was not there before. “We’re in the middle of a culture change. Some people are
on board and some are not. But it is a lot less tense than it used to be,’’ said Wilkinson, the unit griever. “Some people won’t let go of the past, but the fact is, the past was killing us.” Team-building exercises designed to bring all factions of
the plant together from purchasing to shipping and everything in between are underway. Te idea is for union shop stewards and foremen to work together to head off problems before they become grievances.
88 Energy Manufacturing 2013
their hands up in the air and walked away,’’ he said. “Choosing to do this isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s tough. You’ve got to put your old power position aside and that’s hard.”
Future Expansion Plans Elliott is now looking toward future expansion with
the hope that the boom in drilling for natural gas in North American shale formations will translate into more domestic business for its equipment. CEO Yasuyuki Uruma said Ebara has aggressive plans to
double Elliott’s revenue by 2015. Tat can only happen, he said, if safety remains a key concern and everyone cooperates toward building quality, reliable machines delivered on time at reasonable costs. “We went out on a limb,” Wilkinson, the griever, said of the
union’s actions. “But the very thing that makes us capable of doing this is our strength as a union. We never lose who we are, what gives us the strength to step beyond our boundaries. We’re union and we’re proud of it, but we’re also proud to be Elliott union people.”
This article first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of USW@ Work, the official publication of the United Steelworkers. Photographs are by Steve Dietz. Manufacturing Engineering Media thanks the USW for making this article available.
The Elliott Group The Elliott Group encompasses the global turboma-
chinery operations of the Ebara Corp. (Tokyo), Elliott’s corporate parent. Founded in 1910, Elliott became part of Ebara in 2000. Ebara itself was founded in 1912. Elliott’s engineering and manufacturing centers in Jea-
nette, PA, and Sodegaura, Chiba, Japan, produce rotating equipment, including steam turbines, power recovery expanders and centrifugal and axial compressors for the full spectrum of oil and gas, refining, LNG, petrochemical and other process and power applications. The company employs 2200 persons in 34 locations around the world.
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