Labor–Management Partnerships for Public Transportation, Volume 2: Final Report (2015)

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F-1 A P P E N D I X F Case Study Interview Guide This is a guide for the TCRP F-20 research team to conduct case studies of six transit properes regarding their experience of implemenng labor management partnerships. As an underlying principle, the guide encourages open conversaons with the interviewees. The research team should use open ended quesons whenever possible, but especially at the beginning of an interview and when an interview moves on to a new topic. The interviewers from the research team should use this guide as cues instead of asking every queson strictly as it is wri en and in the exact order this guide provides. This requires the interviewers to be very familiar with the intended takeaways from the interviews and hence the quesons listed below. At the same me, the interviewers need to be a enve to what the interviewees have to share so as to quickly filter useful informaon and ask quesons that will lead to further informaon pernent to the intended takeaways. This guide includes general quesons for all interviewees, and quesons specific to each interviewee group. The division is because the level of involvement in Labor Management Partnership may vary across interviewee groups, using group specific quesons would allow for more effecve use of the interviewees’ me and generate more relevant responses. Interviewee Groups 1. Top Management Representa ve (General Manager/CEO) Quesons should focus on strategic and organizaon wide aspects, and appropriate to top management’s level of involvement in LMP. 2. Union local president Quesons should address union local president’s role and involvement in LMP. If the union local president is the union lead of LMP, quesons for “Type 3” below should also be asked. The relaon or separaon of collecve bargaining and LMP should also be explored with the union local president.

F-2 how LMP acvies are carried out (instuonalized or informal) and their views on LMP effecveness and barriers. 4. Management/union representave who sits on a labor management joint commiee (will include an operaons manager and a “front line” worker, as suggested by the Panel) Quesons should focus on the acvies specific to the joint commiee in queson. Ask the interviewees how the joint commiees were established, how joint commiee acvies are carried out (instuonalized or informal), and their views on the effectiveness and barriers of the joint commiees. 5. Management and union representaves who acvely parcipate in other LMP acvies Quesons should idenfy what these acvies are, how they are carried out, what the interviewees roles are in the acvies, and their views on the effecveness of such acvies on facilitang a posive and producve labor management relaonship. 6. LMP facilitator(s) Quesons should explore in what ways the facilitators are involved in LMP acvies, and how their presence helps make LMP more effecve. 3. Management/union (if not local president) representave who is the management/union lead of the LMP Quesons should explore the governance and administrave structure of LMP, interviewees’ role and involvement in LMP, and depending on their involvement in day to day LMP acvies,

F-3 A. General Quesons 1. What is your role in the labor management relaonship of your transit system? 2. According to the responses to our survey of your transit system, your system had a posive labor management cooperaon rang. (or “an adversarial cooperaon rang”) 2.1. Do you agree with that impression from the responses to the survey? If not, why not? 2.2. How would you generally describe the relaonship between union management at your transit system? 2.3. What would you attribute, if anything, to the impression of a posive (or, “adversarial”) or producve cooperave (or, “less than producve”) relaonship? 2.4. What are the three most important factors that affect union management relaonship at your transit system? 2.5. Has collecve bargaining impacted your union management relaonship? If so, how? 2.6. Has any change in leadership within the last three years (Union or Management) impacted the relaonship? If so, how? 3. Is there a formal document in place that governs labor management cooperaon here at your transit system? If so, what is it? Levels of Cooperaon 4. What would you say the level of cooperaon is between the union and management? Very cooperave, cooperave, neutral, adversarial, or very adversarial? 5. What are the good pracces that you believe lend themselves to establishing and sustaining effecve labor management cooperaon, and the condions for the pracces to be effecve, e.g. sequence of being carried out? 6. What do you think are the barriers in this organizaon to establishing and sustaining effecve labor management cooperaon? 7. Do you believe it is necessary to have a professional facilitator present to make labor management cooperaon work well? If so, why? Labor–Management Partnerships (LMPs) 8. What term do you use to refer to labor – management cooperaon in your transit system? (LMP is square parenthesized in the rest of this guide to indicate that the interviewer should refer to LMP using the term menoned by the interviewees in response to this queson.) 9. Is there a structured process for discussing and resolving mutual interests between labor and management? If so, please describe it. 10. Our background research, directed us to the following document(s) which seem to speak to the [LMP]? (show document(s) to interviewee)

F-4 11. Do you believe that this (these) document(s) is/are a reflec on of the [LMP] here? 12. What have been some recent/notable accomplishments of labor management coopera on at your transit system? 13. Has the [LMP] of your transit system been, in your view, a successful venture? If not, why not? 14. Do you believe that [LMP] works and that it should be pursued by both union and management on various issues of common interest? 15. What issues do you believe would lend themselves well to a [LMP]? 16. What issues do not lend themselves well to a [LMP]? 17. As a management/union representa ve in [LMP], do you report regularly to your peers and ask them for input in a structured or informal way? 18. Should an employee be assigned to a full me posi on to address LMP? If so, why and should the assignment be permanent or only for a certain period? If not, why? 19. Should [LMPs] be structured and made a part of the collec ve bargaining process? 18.1. If so, why do you think it is desirable? 18.2. If not, why not? 20. The type of labor management coopera on that we are studying, like the [LMP] in your property, has been referred to as “Labor Management Partnership”. Do you have any comments on the term LMP? 21. Is there any ques on that I did not ask that you may want to comment on or add to this interview?

F-5 B. Interviewee Group Specific Quesons 1. Top Management Representave (General Manager/CEO) 1.1. What are the acvies/work areas here that have produced the highest level of labor management cooperaon on? 1.1.1.What joint commiees, if any, show the greatest degree of cooperaon? 1.1.2.Which ones do not work well cooperavely? 1.1.3.Are you a proponent of joint commiees? If so, why? If not, why not? 1.2. How oen does the top leadership or senior officials of both union and management meet to discuss issues, formally or informally? 1.2.1.How are such meengs planned and arranged, e.g. through phone calls, structured calendar meengs, etc.? 1.3. How have you dealt in your labor relaonship with the problems of (1) absenteeism (excluding tardiness) and (2) restroom relief point for bus operators? (These two are issues for comparison across properes. They are of on going interests to unions and management across the transit industry so could provide a point of comparison.) 2. Union local president 2.1. What are the acvies/work areas here that have produced the highest level of cooperaon on? 2.1.1.What joint commiees, if any, show the greatest degree of cooperaon? 2.1.2.Which ones do not work well cooperavely? 2.1.3.Are you a proponent of joint commiees? If so, why? If not, why not? 2.2. How oen does the top leadership or senior officials of both union and management meet to discuss issues, formally or informally? 2.2.1.How are such meengs planned and arranged, e.g. through phone calls, structured calendar meengs, etc.? 2.3. How have you dealt in your labor relaonship with the problems of (1) absenteeism (excluding tardiness) and (2) restroom relief point for bus operators? 3. Management/union (if not local president) representave who is the management/union lead of the [LMP] 3.1. What are the acvies/work areas here that have produced the highest level of cooperaon on? 3.1.1.What joint commiees, if any, show the greatest degree of cooperaon? 3.1.2.Which ones do not work well cooperavely? 3.1.3.Are you a proponent of joint commiees? If so, why? If not, why not? 3.2. How oen does the top leadership or senior officials of both union and management meet to discuss issues, formally or informally? 3.2.1.What channels or methods do they use when se„ng up those meengs, phone calls, structured calendar meengs, etc.?

F-6 4. Management/union representave who sits on a labor management joint commiee (will include an operaons manager and “front line” workers, as suggested by the Panel) 4.1. What is your role in this joint commiee? 4.2. How oen does the joint commiee meet? 4.3. How do union and management reach a resoluon in joint commiee meengs? 4.3.1. Do both sides in the LMP have equal voice and equal power in making decisions? 4.3.2. Does the other side (union if management is asked; management if union is asked) ever change their posions in joint meengs due to a more thorough understanding of the issues being deliberated? If so, how oen does it occur? 4.4. Do you think the joint commiee is effecve in achieving the objecves for which it was established?Why or why not? 4.5. Is there a professional facilitator present for the joint commiee meengs? If so, in what ways is the facilitator helpful for maintaining the effecveness joint commiee? 5. Management and union representaves who acvely parcipate in other [LMP] acvies 5.1. Could you describe the [LMP] acvity(ies) that you are involved in and your role in such acvity(ies)? 5.2. What is/are the objective(s) of the acvity(ies)? 5.3. How oen do management and union representaves meet for such acvity(ies)? 5.4. Do you think the acvity(ies) is/are effecve in achieving the objecves for which it was established?Why or why not? 6. [LMP] facilitator(s) 6.1. In what labor management cooperaon acvies do you play a role? 6.2. In what ways do you see yourself valuable to effecve labor management cooperaon?