Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Union vs Open

The wins of a great incentive program tend to be the same for both union and open shop employers.

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Contributors Sue Weiler-Doke David Brown

The wins not only include retention of the employees that you already have, but recruitment of new employees.

Every organization needs to dig a bit deeper into incentive programs when rolling them out in a union environment. Although not impossible to implement, special attention should be paid to the specific language of the master labor agreement to make sure no articles are being violated.

Another consideration when using a cash-based incentive program is the possibility that the payments being made could ultimately be considered as a wage and could become part of a prevailing wage package. This is not a common occurrence, but should be considered when rolling out a program into a union environment.


In this video series Courtney Stearns, Sue Weiler-Doke, and David Brown discuss the most common questions we get from contractors about incentive programs, including a bunch of great questions from the audience.

This is Part 8 of a 20-Part Series


Topics Covered in the Series Include:

  • Who Benefits?
  • Calculations
  • Prerequisites
  • Mitigating the Talent Shortage
  • Succession

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Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Audience Question: Loss of Trust?
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Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Succession
Succession planning works best when leaders of the organization spend time helping leaders at all levels to think as business owners. This level of thinking includes cash flow and funding sources for all organizational planning.
Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Next Steps
When starting an incentive compensation program, the best thing you can do is start relatively simply and create a good plan for reviewing the results and then improving the program.