Community relationships *

Labor relations as a factor in community relations

One segment of public-relations work in a community has come to be regarded as a field for trained specialists. That segment is concerned with labor relations. Usually labor relations has to do with production workers, who may or may not be unionized. In some enterprises, relations with labor are handled by a general director of personnel; in other instances, the function is assigned to an outside expert who knows the ramifications of laws and regulations affecting labor, and who is experienced in negotiating contracts with unions and in settling controversies. Unless the public-relations worker specializes in labor relations, he should delegate the technical details of this field of work to one who is trained to handle matters of this kind.

Nevertheless, the public-relations worker must concern himself with his company's labor relations at least to the extent of making sure that the function is handled in a manner that will contribute to the successful carrying-out of the public-relations program as a whole. This is particularly important, since good public relations start inside the factory gates. In community work, the public-relations worker deals with a triangle, one side of which is constituted by the company, another side by the company's employees, and the third side by the community's people.

Maintaining labor standards

As does the management of the General Electric Company in its broad-gauged community program in Schenectady, the public-relations worker, to the limits of his ability and authority, must see to it that "we get and keep the physical and financial aspects of each individual job up to ever-rising standards." Furthermore, by employing methods that will be discussed later, the public-relations worker must see to it that "the employees know about and understand the improvement." Finally, if an educational project among the employees seems feasible, the public-relations worker may follow the example of General Electric and, through such an agency as the Lions Club, or Rotary, or Kiwanis, he may make use of the community's business leaders to extend sound information to the public in general.

Use of the "open house" in bettering community relations

On a scale less ambitious than General Electric's project, an enterprise may employ the so-called "open house" to excellent advantage in improving its relations with the people of the community. There is a number of benefits to be derived from such an undertaking. In the first place, the community's people gain a better understanding of the enterprise—its atmosphere, its working conditions, its methods, its products, and its functions in the economy of the community and of the country at large. In the second place, the enterprise's management gets to know the community's people better—to know them as neighbors and as welcome guests. In the third place, the enterprise's employees, in demonstrating to their neighbors the workings of the plant, acquire enhanced pride in their jobs.

The "open house" requires careful planning

When a person invites guests to his home, he wants to make a good impression, so he feels that it is important to make careful preparations ahead of time for their entertainment. It is just as important for a company, when it invites people of its community to visit its place of business, to make careful plans for the occasion. As a working blueprint of holding "open house," the program laid out for plant visitation by the Associated Industries of Alabama may be used to advantage. While this program was worked out to apply merely to industries within the state's limits, it is of a suitable nature to be used by almost any plant, anywhere.

As pointed out by Charles L. Bromberg, chairman of the public-relations committee of the Associated Industries of Alabama, the program's successful operation rests upon two prime requirements. "First," Mr. Bromberg said, "top management must give more than mere lip service. Top management must make itself available at all times for guidance and consultation with the department that it assigned the task of carrying the program through. Second, we firmly believe that plant visitation is not just a sight-seeing tour. We regard it as an opportunity for your company permanently to establish better good-will through a better understanding of the operations of your business."

Application of the Alabama program

Application of the Alabama program for holding "open house" in a specific plant involves carrying out the instructions given below, and giving thought to the comments accompanying these instructions. These instructions, however, do not necessarily have to be followed out in the order given.

1. Decide upon those departments and procedures in your plant that are likely to prove most interesting to the visitors, and map out a tour in which those activities can be seen in their logical order and with a minimum of walking-around.
2. Select qualified employees to act as combinations of guides and hosts. Because some of the visitors will be women, see to it that, among the guides and hosts, the feminine sex is adequately, and also attractively, represented.
3. "Brief" the guides. They, better than any outsider, will know what to say. They know the story of how your plant operates, because they help make that story. It is for you, as manager of the proceedings, to indicate to them how to tell the story–what points to cover, what points to emphasize, and what matters to discuss in some detail.
4. "Brief" the entire personnel. Through the department heads, foremen, supervisors, alert everyone in the works to the fact that, at a certain time, "company" is coming.
5. In advance, see to it that there will be something for your visitors to carry home as souvenirs, as, for instance, a brochure describing your company, its operations, its policies and its ideals; or, perhaps, samples of your product.
6. Prepare to invite your guests. To some of them, you may decide to send special invitations. These specially invited guests may include people in such groups as the following:
   (a) Public officials: your community's mayor and his "cabinet"; local lawmakers—councilmen or trustees; your county officials and, if your plant is in or near the state capital, your state's governor and other state officials.
   (b) Educators: your community's school board and school superintendent; primary and high-school teachers; the president of your Parent-Teachers Association.
   (c) Heads of organizations, such as your chamber of commerce; "service" clubs; lodges; veterans' groups; women's clubs; YMCA, YWCA, YMHA; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; 4-H Clubs, and so on.
   (d) Labor-union officials: the heads of unions represented in your community and federated, perhaps, in a local union-trades council.
   (e) Your community's religious leaders: the clergy, as represented, perhaps, by your community's ministerial association, and church laymen as represented by church clubs and societies.
   (f) The press: local editors and newsmen and, if your community has a local radio station, its station manager, program manager, or news editor.
7. Invite the general public. To extend the invitation to people in their homes, you may use the following methods:
   (a) Ask your employees to invite their families and their neighbors.
   (b) Convey the invitation through the press by means of news releases, or paid-for advertising.
   (c) Extend the invitation over the radio in the form of a newscast or in paid-for time.
8. Receive your guests. You can expect a considerable crowd. Accordingly, you may find it advisable to spread your "open-house" program over several days, and to set aside different days for different groups; for example, public officials on the opening day, educators on the second day, civic and church organizations on the third day, and so on. Furthermore, because your guests will be numerous, you may find it advisable to conduct them through the plant in groups, with the groups spaced far enough apart so that they will not tread on each other's heels.
9. Be prepared to extend the proceedings over a long enough period to make the occasion a success –for a week if necessary–even though your plant operations are hampered and your production is considerably curtailed. If the program is properly handled, any temporary money loss from reduced activity will later on be more than compensated for by the results produced by this public-relations project.

The company's employees who are also a part of the community will take a greater pride in their jobs and tend to become more efficient. The executives of the company, by becoming acquainted with the people of the community will have a better understanding of their employees, and will consequently be able to do a better management job. Those in the community, both employees of the company and others, will get the feeling that the plant, in a way, belongs to them, a feeling that will react favorably on the company in many different forms.

Illustration of an "open-house" project

One of the plants that opened its doors to the public under the program of the Associated Industries of Alabama was that of Stockham Valves and Fittings, Inc., in Birmingham. In this instance, the visiting group was composed of educators, who were welcomed in the company's conference room by the company's president, Herbert C. Stockham. In his talk to these educators, Mr. Stockham said in part:

"Our products are shipped to all parts of the world. This year, in exchange for our products, more than fifteen million dollars will be brought into Birmingham. Except for the tremendous bite that will be taken by the Federal Government, most of that money will be spent in this city.

"Every one of our stockholders lives in Birmingham and spends his money here. Except for a few of our salesmen, every one of our 1,900 employees lives here and spends his money here. In the Birmingham district are produced our principal raw materials—pig iron, steel scrap, coke and coal.

"The taxes paid by our employees and by the company itself, help support the city, county, and state. Within this community, there is hardly a store, bank, church, hospital or public-service organization of any kind that doesn't benefit, directly or indirectly, from the money our production feeds into greater Birmingham."

Mr. Stockham's talk was an impressive story of an institution's service to its community—a story told in specific terms and in terms of that community's self-interest. While most organizations of substantial size are not so completely localized as to ownership and operations as this one, the story Mr. Stockham told is true to some extent of every manufacturing and trading concern which does business in the United States or in the Dominion of Canada.

Improving community facilities

Frequently, a business enterprise has the opportunity to serve the public in its community in a tangible and visible way. For example, in the isolated village of Tahawas, in New York State's Adirondacks, the National Lead Company conducts a big-scale mining operation for the extraction of iron and titanium dioxide. The picturesque village, with its bungalows, dormitories, fire hall, school, and general store, all company-built, depends entirely upon the company for its livelihood.

As a public service, the company decided to provide the community with a new recreation building, complete with a gymnasium, bowling alleys, dining rooms, reading rooms, and facilities for holding religious services. This was a line of enterprise rather far removed from mining and refining ores, and the company recognized that its successful administration would require the services of specialists. Consequently, the company presented the completed building to the New York State YMCA, and said, in effect: "It's yours. We ask that you operate the building for the benefit of the community's people."

This development was of more than merely local interest. Accordingly, when, on a specified Sunday, the National Lead Company's top executives journeyed to Tahawas for the dedication ceremony, there assembled in Tahawas, also, the editors of a number of newspapers scattered throughout the Adirondack region, some of whom, incidentally, were transported from their home communities and sent back home in company-owned or company-chartered cars. Others present at the ceremony were representatives of the State's Conservation Department, with which the company finds frequent opportunities to cooperate. In addition, the church was represented on the speaking program in the persons of a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister.

Never had Tahawas seen such a turn-out. Everybody in the village was there, and everybody had an excellent time. Obviously, the company's relations with its plant community were greatly benefited by this undertaking, and it may be taken for granted that, if there was previously any toward the company, this was entirely wiped out.

Good relations despite unpopular company action

Circumstances can arise, and they have arisen, in which it becomes necessary for an enterprise to explain to the people of a plant community the reason for some action that it is planning to take which is likely to meet with the disapproval of many. The problem is how to maintain good public relations despite such a move.

For example, a small manufacturing enterprise in a New York State village found itself compelled to move out of town. The business had started in small, out-of-the-way manufacturing quarters that lacked a railway connection. As the business grew, the company found its quarters too closely cramped to permit efficient production, while the cost of transporting raw materials and finished products by motor truck was becoming increasingly burdensome.

Seeking a larger and better site, the management found ample, well-adapted space in another part of the town. The proposed site, however, lay in a zone-restricted area. At a village referendum, a proposal to modify the restrictions was voted down, although, from the beginning, the company had done its best to keep the community's people informed about the issues involved. Consequently, the company decided that it would have to move out of town, and so it bought a track-side piece of land in another village, some ten or twelve miles away, and proceeded to build a beautiful plant.

In view of the referendum's result, which apparently expressed the feelings of a majority of the community's people, it appeared that the matter was ended, that the company had no alternative but to close down its old plant and, without further regard for public opinion, set up shop in new quarters. This, however, did not prove to be the case. Through such spontaneous means of expression as protest meetings of citizens, the feeling developed that, because of the machinations of local politics, the referendum had not reflected the will of the whole community. A vocal and indignant segment of the populace wanted the company to stay. This segment was, naturally, largely made up of workers, their families, and tradesmen and landlords dealing with these workers.

As a result, the company again had to consider the problem. Could it reverse itself? The old site had been sold and the new plant was nearing completion. To reverse itself would cost the company many thousands of dollars. Furthermore, it would merely lead to another referendum, at which the proposal would probably again be voted down, regardless of the feeling that the first one was not fair.

The company went ahead with its move. Nevertheless, it took measures to avoid incurring in the community it was leaving by buying advertising space in the community's newspaper to explain that it wanted as many of its former employees to remain with it as could do so. Furthermore, it stated that it would buy or charter buses to supply them with commutation service between home and work. While this offer did not completely satisfy the workers, it served to prevent them from feeling any great toward the company. More important, however, was the fact that the way the company handled the situation made a good impression on the general public.

Solving the pollution problem to prevent community ill-will

A public-relations problem that is growing in importance with the industrialization of the country, and the paring down of unpopulated territory is the problem created by the kind of manufacturing which, unless preventative measures are taken, entails a lesser or greater pollution of earth, air, or water. This is a problem which particularly concerns the chemical and allied industries.

Recently, in an eastern state, a large chemical company was faced with this problem. Its product, vital to industry, and to national defense, was the result of a process which created a large quantity of unsightly, bad-smelling, and viscous wastage. Disposal of this wastage was beset with difficulties. If it was buried in the earth, it polluted streams and rendered the ground sterile. If it was dumped in the coastal and river waters, it killed the fish and discolored the adjoining areas. In addition to this problem, there was the problem of fumes from the plant, which, though not dangerous, were evil-smelling and evil-looking, thick, and of a greenish-yellow hue. It was essential for the company to solve these problems, not only for the sake of good community relations, but because the state passed a law forbidding stream and other pollution.

The company more or less settled the question of the fumes by installing expensive equipment that dissipated the worst effects. How to dispose of the undesired by-product, however, still remained a perplexing problem. The ire of the citizens against the company grew day by day, and fishermen met in heated gatherings, with full press coverage. Finally, a solution was reached. It was decided to dump the by-product into the ocean 12 miles out. It took millions of dollars, especially built barges, and activity that would have done credit to the navy of a small nation to achieve this result. Nevertheless, it represented a solid victory for basically sound community relations. The results from the public-relations angle were more than sufficient to compensate for the extra expense involved in adopting a means of disposal satisfactory to the public.

The foregoing story illustrates how times have changed. In this new era of social consciousness, it is necessary, if a company is to prosper, to give more thought and consideration to a company's relations with its community than was required in the past. This is particularly so because of the great size to which enterprises have grown in this modern age. Size begets public-relations problems. When a company is young and struggling, it cannot afford and is not expected to give much attention to the welfare of its community. Only when it becomes large enough to affect the lives of the majority of the people who are its neighbors must it take measures to assure that its relations with the public are of the highest possible order.

Participation in community affairs

To summarize what has already been said, there are ways in which plant executives, as individuals and as citizens, may participate in community life, and thus gain reflected credit for the enterprise they operate. There are also ways in which an enterprise can participate in community affairs as an institution, when it is endowed with resources and facilities for kinds of service that extend beyond profit-making corporate functions. For opportunities along these lines, the public-relations worker must keep ever alert. He must seek ways for employing his company's facilities and manpower in public service, but in doing so, he must carefully avoid the semblance of corporate interference in the community's freedom and democracy.

For instance, does the community need a bang-up good band to lead parades? If so, the public-relations worker might suggest to his management that the company donate the uniforms and instruments and provide a place for rehearsals. Does the community lack a waterfront park or an adequate recreation field? Does the community need a first-class hotel? Is there an opportunity on company-owned but unoccupied land in an environment such as the Adirondacks for the company to provide picnicking spots, or ski slides, or. well-marked trails for hiking parties? It is the duty of the public-relations worker to look into all such possibilities. Furthermore, he should give consideration to whether, in the case of some projects, it would be of advantage to secure the cooperation of such organizations as the chamber of commerce, the "service" clubs, or the merchants association, in carrying the project through.

The more a company gains in stature as a "good citizen" and a "good neighbor," the more it develops an asset in the form of the people's friendship, which, in times of difficulty may prove to be of priceless value. People's friendship is a commodity which cannot be bought in a hurry when it is needed. When, however, it is acquired and "paid for" over a long period of time by sincere effort on the part of the company to promote the welfare of the community, this commodity becomes a corporate asset as important as any item which appears in the company's annual financial statement.

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