How the Joint Labor-Management Committees Work

For those Local 18 members unfamiliar with our Joint Labor-Management Committees (JLMC), I would like to offer a basic overview of this valuable and productive system.

The JLMCs started with the formation of the Joint Resolution Board (JRB), a product of our 1996 negotiations with the Department. The JRB consists of top DWP management and the leadership of Local 18. All the JLMCs ultimately report to the Joint Resolution Board. The 12 principal main committees that report directly to the JRB are:

Service Reliability and Maintenance Guarantees; Water System; Customer Service; Materials Management and Logistics; Information Technology Services; Electrical Station Maintenance; In-Basin Generation; Priority Staffing; ISS General Construction; Operating Orders; Worker Safety, and Substation Area. These committees consist of Department managers and Local 18 members from the fields that fall under their jurisdiction.

The main committees have subcommittees reporting to them. The subcommittees are made up of members of the main committee to which they report, and are often augmented by other people with expertise in the issues that are being dealt with by the subcommittee.

Subcommittees are generally formed to deal with specific issues. They may stay together on an ongoing basis or disband after the issue at hand has been resolved. When a subcommittee resolves an issue it drafts a recommendation and presents it to the main committee. After the main committee reviews the recommendation, it will implement it if it falls within the scope of their authority, or forward the recommendation to the JRB. When an issue reaches the JRB, it is considered and a decision is made based on the facts, the recommendation, further research, or any combination of these factors.

This is a basic overview of how the JLMC system works. The process does not always work quite as seamlessly as described, but ultimately issues do make it all the way through the system and reach resolution.
The JLMC process is the accepted method of doing business at the DWP, and although it takes constant vigilance and effort from both Labor and Management, the system is working.

I would like to ask each member of Local 18 to become familiar with the JLMC that deals with the issues in your area. Get to know the members of those committees, and make your voices heard. When we stand together, there are no problems that we cannot overcome and no issues that cannot be resolved.

In unity,

Dave Huff