A New Job For The Governor's Hubby

Speaking of Daniel Mulhern, the First Gentleman of Michigan, he has written a new book it seems. The University of Michigan Press will publish his new book, "Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life." The book hits bookshelves March 1 so the book reviews have to be coming soon.

There is a big rumour circulating, whether true or not, that Windsor will have a big chapter in the book. I wonder, if true, what will be said and if names will be dropped? From what I knew about personal relationships on the old Council, it could be ugleeeeee!

Why don't I buy a copy and review it----you have got to be kidding. I expect it wil appear on the Eddie monthly book list as a book to read and he will read it 5 times like his other monthly selections. We'll hear enough about it I am sure.

Will we read inside info about the border file given his wife's job or other Canada/US matters? Will he tell us truly what he thinks about our Mayor and Councillors? Will he claim credit for their so-called unity before the election? Was he the one who created or promoted the "tunnel" idea as the concept they all could rally around to get re-elected? I can hardly wait to find out.

I am sure that you remember when the Mayor retained the services of the Michigan Governor's Hubby, to create unity and cohesion for the previously dysfunctional Council. Well I have another job for which the City needs to hire him.

Clearly the Mayor and CAO have been singularly unsuccessful in building morale at City Hall with managerial staff. Why else would white collar workers be so upset that they are unionizing.

Just to show you the depth of feeling, here is what one manager wrote in his/her BLOG. Right or wrong, it does not matter. This is how this person feels and why this person is doing what he/she is doing:

• "Traditionally, the relationship between senior management and CANUE [Civic Association of Non Union Employees] was informal and was built on a level of trust and respect. Quarterly meetings with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) were the norm.
  
  That all changed 6 years ago when a top-down reorganization led to the sudden departure of 14 non-union employees. The reorg was a disaster. It was never fully implemented, front line staff did not buy into it and municipal councilors and the general public were confused as to who did what. But the haphazard way people were terminated, while others were promoted or seconded, left a bad taste in most non-union employees. Trust and respect were in doubt.
  
  A pattern in actions taken by senior management began to emerge. A new Hours of Work and Overtime policy was developed that initially involved non-union employees. However, somewhere along the line, senior management did not like the path that process was taking and came up with their own plan. This was the infamous '40 hour work week' I mentioned in a previous post. Despite the fact that unionized employees work a 35 hour work week, non-union employees were to work a 40 hour work week. In reality nothing changed. If you worked 37.5 hours before the new policy, you continued to work 37.5 hours after the new policy. It was mind boggling. Trust and respect were closer to dead.
  
  Next came the compensation review for all non-union employees, including senior management. Part way through the process, senior management pulled themselves out of the process. They agreed on setting salaries for the rest of us at the 50th percentile, while setting their own salaries at the 100th percentile. Around the same time, a morale survey was conducted and senior management attempted to paint a rosy picture. In reality, things were much worse. The CANUE executive turned the survey on it's head and several councilors picked up on that. Trust and respect were completely dead.
  
  Which brings us to the important meeting. The topic at hand was the future of CANUE. Do we maintain the status quo and hope that things improve or do we vote to transform CANUE into a trade union. We heard from rep the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and explained the process to forming a trade union and what can be expected. People asked questions and provided their opinions on the matter. A vote was taken on whether to begin the process of forming a trade union. In the end, 95 percent of attendees (about 140 people attended the meeting) voted in favour.
  
  The result was and was not surprising. I think many people were initially reluctant to take the step to forming a trade union. They figured that senior management was not going to give up on a 20 or so year relationship. They figured that things would settle down and that senior management would want to improve the relationship. That was not to happen. It is clear that senior management was going to use CANUE as the wedge against the union locals. Unfortunately, senior management thought wrong.
  
  So, despite my long-time anti-union stance, it looks like I'll be a union member before the end of the year. Nice one senior management."

So what can the Governor's Hubby do for Windsor. "Michigan first gentleman Dan Mulhern is chairing a new initiative designed to encourage Michigan companies to adopt practices that attract and retain talented workers."

Here is what Mulhern said. Just replace "company" with "City Hall" and see what kind of trouble we may have as we try to grow our economy:

• "Mulhern said that a company “that is a great place to work serves as a magnet for economic growth, because it attracts and retains highly talented workers, and that leads to corporate success."

Mulhern should have been hired a long time ago to help out before matters got to this stage. Perhaps it is not too late. I guess the Mayor dropped the puck on this one!