cqen.list Weekly Digest Subject: LegislationOnTeamwork Subject: SCHOOLS Subject: Re: SCHOOLS Subject: Re: SCHOOLS ---------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 10:44:34 -0500 From: ParetoKid@aol.com Subject: LegislationOnTeamwork The Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act (HR 743) has already been passed by the US House of Representative and no one, to my knowledge, in the employee involvement, teamwork, self-managing teams, etc. has been involved with or been contacted by the sponsors of the bill in the House and Senate (S. 295-same title) I am very concerned that there has been no consultation by either the House or the Senate with people who live with and/or practise employee involvement, teamwork, participative management, etc. as a means to improve work and worklife. I am writing to a number of people and sharing this message with a number of lists because the issue is of great importance to all working people. The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee is considering a bill (S.295) and an already House passed bill (HR 743) amending the National Labor Relations act. The Bill's common or short name is "The Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act." The purpose of the act has been stated to be to enable non-union firms use teams and employee involvement without having to fear that they may be accused of setting up "company unions." Copies of the bills may be downloaded from this WWWeb site: http://rs9.loc.gov/home/c104query.html This is a "search the 104th Congress" site. Enter H.R. 743 and S. 295 and you can download copies of the bill. I have no position on the bill to recommend at this time. I am simply concerned that a bill could be passed without any of us who are vitally interested in its impact ever having the opportunity to have input on the bill. It strikes me as very odd, and perhaps is an unintended comment on our times that legislation on employee involvement might be passed without any involvement by the people affected by it. I urge you to contact one or both of your own Senators and to express your interest in the issue and your desire to either be kept informed or notified of any hearings to members of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. Here are the names of the Senators on the labor and human resources committee: Committee on Labor and Human Resources 202-224-5375 428 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510-6300 Committee on Labor and Human Resources Chair Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum R - Kansas 202-224-4774 302 Russell Senate Office Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-1602 Christopher J. Dodd Democrat from Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd 444 Russell Office Building United States Senate Washington D.C. 20510 sen_dodd@dodd.senate.gov Senator Christopher J. Dodd Putnam Park 100 Great Meadow Road Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109 Senator Kennedy: Washington D.C.: 2400 JFK Building 315 Russell Senate Building Boston, MA 02203 Washington, DC 20510 (617) 565 - 3170 (202) 224 - 4543 E-mail: Senator@kennedy.senate.gov Senator Paul Simon Democrat, Illinois e-mail at senator@simon.senate.gov. Senator Tom Harkin Iowa Democrat 202/224-3254 United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-2202 tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov Senator John Ashcroft Republican, Missouri 202-224-6154 United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-2504 john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov Senator Spencer Abraham R - Michigan 202-224-4822 245 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-2203 E-mail: michigan@abraham.senate.gov Senator Slade Gorton R - Washington 202-224-3441 730 Hart Senate Office Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-4701 E-mail: senator_gorton@gorton.senate.gov Senator Claiborne Pell D - Rhode Island 202-224-4642 335 Russell Senate Office Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-3901 Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Maryland Democrat Senator@Mikulski.Senate.Gov 202/224-4654 United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Senator Dan Coats R - Indiana 202-224-5623 404 Russell Senate Office Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510-1403 Senator Jeffords Republican, Vermont 513 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 vermont@jeffords.senate .gov Senator Paul WellStone 717 Hart Senate Office Building 2550 University Avenue, W Washington, D.C. 20510-2303 Court International Building St. Paul, MN 55114-1025 Paul's e-mail address is senator@wellstone.senate.gov. Washington, D.C.: (202) 224-5641 Saint Paul: (612) 645-0323 Virginia: (218) 741-1074 Willmar: (612) 231-0001 toll-free number set up for his constituents to use: 1-800-642-6041 hearing impaired, Paul has a TDD in his Washington, D.C. office: (202) 224-4754. fax machines. Washington, D.C.: (202) 224-8438 Saint Paul: (612) 645-0704 Virginia: (218) 741-8544 Willmar: (612) 231-0006 You may contact me directly for copies of the bills via e-mail Ned Hamson, editor: The Journal for Quality and Participation Association for Quality and Participation, 801-B W. 8th St., Suite 501, Cincinnati, OH 45203 Tel: 513-381-1979 Fax: 513-381-0070 e-mail: ParetoKid@aol.com "This is the time... We are the people... Let's work together... Now!" http://newciv.org/worldtrans/comqual.html 09, Feb 1996 ---------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 15:26:37 -0600 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" From: cbrooks@luminet.net (Craig Brooks) Subject: SCHOOLS We've been involved in a local Council for Quality for several years. Local public school people were involved in the beginning, including some going along on a group trip to a Deming four day seminar. I see problems with getting quality initiatives going in the school system and having this critical part of the community involved actively in the community quality initiatives. Any ideas on how to help break educators out of those brick buildings and into collaborative community efforts? *********************************** cbrooks@luminet.net Craig Brooks ____________________________________ Winona - The Micropolis That Fulfills Dreams *********************************** ---------------------------------------- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sat, 10 Feb 1996 05:20:18 -0500 From: mtribus@hooked.net (Myron Tribus) Subject: Re: SCHOOLS Craig Brooks wrote: >We've been involved in a local Council for Quality for several years. Local >public school people were involved in the beginning, including some going >along on a group trip to a Deming four day seminar. >I see problems with getting quality initiatives going in the school system >and having this critical part of the community involved actively in the >community quality initiatives. Any ideas on how to help break educators out >of those brick buildings and into collaborative community efforts? Once I asked Dr. Deming, "What does it take to get started?" His reply: "A critical mass of people, who work together, consistently." Then I asked, "When should you begin?" He said, "It doesn't matter, as long as you start at once." My advice, for what little it is worth is this: Start small with just one teacher and one class, with help from those who know about quality. Make friends with the school principal and try to keep him or her informed. A good project for starters is to give a course of instruction, perhaps after school on a volunteer basis, on the basics of quality tools and philosophy, and then get the students involved in a project in local industry. Arrange for a final presentation with teachers and others present. Out of the discussions following the presentations, if you have done it well, you will begin to enlarge your group and will then attain critical mass. You will never, I repeat, never, get the whole system going at once. You must learn to manage small efforts before you undertake large ones. Myron Tribus 350 Britto Terrace Fremont, CA 94539 Phone:(510) 651 3641 FAX: (510) 656 9875 e-mail: mtribus@hooked.net Nobody knows what we could do with education because we have never really tried. (Hutchins, President, University of Chicago in the 1930's) ---------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 11 Feb 1996 18:09:09 +1100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" From: qsa@tamarcom.com.au (Ivan Webb) Subject: Re: SCHOOLS Recently Craig Brooks wrote: >We've been involved in a local Council for Quality for several years. .... >I see problems with getting quality initiatives going in the school system >and having this critical part of the community involved actively in the >community quality initiatives. The principles & methods involved in quality are radically different from normal school practices. The stakes are very high because schools are involved in the life-chances of millions of young, vulnerable, conscripted people. Families, communities & government cannot and should not permit "strange notions and practices to be used on our young people". Unfortunately for the bulk of the population quality involves some very strange "notions and practices". The community is often thought of as being outside the school: the school is simply a supplier to its surrounding area. Policy on schools in Australia reflects such a view. Or perhaps the school is seen as part of the community. On the other hand it is not unusual for a school to be real community in its own right while the surrounding area is just a place where the people sleep between carrying on their lives elsewhere. A mass of houses does not make a community. Applying quality in schools changes a it from a factory processing children to a genuine community in its own right. When a school itself has consciously become a community of staff, students, families, .... it will be ready to be involved in community quality initiatives. To introduce quality into the community first one must know where the community is. Craig then asked: >Any ideas on how to help break educators out >of those brick buildings and into collaborative community efforts? To get the right answers we need to ask the right questions. Dr Deming said that everyone (and he included educators I am sure) works in a system. The metaphor used by Craig is useful because the systems in schools are often "as solid as brick buildings". The usual response to concern about educational outcomes is to re-inforce the "brick buildings". Quality is an entirely different paradigm. Quality has to compete with the prevailing paradigm which has enormous power and momentum. Everyone knows and most accept the prevailing paradigm!!! For example, educational outcomes are the major focus at this time. This is supported by the profession, government, industry & commerce at a local, national and international level. Attention to processes (a key quality practice) seems to be minimal in most places, eg, curriculum is largely defined in terms of outcomes. Quality on the other hand is about making learning easy and meaningful and valuable (that is, delightful) for each and every learner. It is about ensuring that work in schools (teaching, learning, being the school bus driver and/or the janitor ...) is a joy. It is not about ensuring that the school's performance statistics are above the national average, although that may not be far away. Finally (my apologies for being so long winded) quality needs leadership. Top down initiatives work well because quality is a different paradigm. People at the top can make it safe for the people in classrooms to act on the basis of the quality paradigm. Without this protection it may not be safe for an individual teacher, principal or administrator to apply Dr Deming's teachings. Don't work on an interested teacher or principal: work on the system with the help of the interested teacher or principal. It's not just the educators: everyone needs help to break out of those brick buildings and into collaborative community efforts. Ivan Webb ------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan Webb qsa@tamarcom.com.au 8 Juliana St ph 003 315413 West Launceston fax 003 271858 Tasmania 7250 AUSTRALIA "Pleased to be part of a wider community of service" -------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- End of Digest Provided by Department of Industrial Engineering, Clemson University Comments to list@eng.clemson.edu