By JANE SCHMITT

It's a delicate relationship to begin with, but throw in the uncertainty caused by global economic hardship and relations between corporate management and organized labor can take a real beating.

High-profile disputes involving BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Verizon Communications are prime examples of what can happen when companies are forced to slash budgets and make other changes in the workplace.

"There are certain realities that both sides (management and unions) are having to realize," says Buffalo attorney Kevin Wicka, partner in Brown & Tarantino LLC. "That under the (current) economic climate, they need to be partners, and that really not just the unions but employees have to work with employers to try and make everything work, to keep it competitive for both sides.

"You try to create a win-win, and I think the companies and the work forces that are successful are the ones that can create those win-win situations."

Settlement reached

HealthNow New York, the parent of BlueCross Blue Shield, reached an agreement last month with its clerical union after a breakdown in labor talks led to nearly 400 workers being locked out of their jobs for more than 12 weeks. At issue was job security versus subcontracting, according to news reports.

The insurer and Local 212 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which represented about one-quarter of the total work force, agreed on a three-year contract July 13 - but not before a loud, public battle that included a steady picket line across the street from company headquarters in Buffalo.

On strike

Verizon saw local workers begin picketing Aug. 8, joining tens of thousands of colleagues along the East Coast who went on strike to protest changes in their union contract involving pension benefits, sick leave and health-care premiums. Several unions are involved in the strike, including Communications Workers of America Locals 1122, 1115 and 1117, as well as International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2213.

According to union reps, the telecommunications giant is seeking concessions on more than 100 contract items. They include sick pay and overtime, wages, pensions and medical benefits.

These days, small and large companies alike are feeling the pressures of a recessionary economy.

It's not an easy time for anyone, according to M. Rogan Morton, a Buffalo attorney who practices employment and labor law.

"When negotiating bargaining agreements, management tends to face several obstacles such as trying to balance economic constraints and uncertainties - i.e., the economy and health-care reform - with employee needs and wants," she said.

Wicka, of Brown & Tarantino, agrees.

"There's a fair amount of fear out there, and that motivates a lot of people. Just like in the stock market, you see that in the workplace, too," he says. "A lot of companies, although they may be doing fine, they become proactive sometimes in these situations and may make cuts where they don't necessarily have to yet - but they're concerned about the direction of the economy."

When trying to preserve management-union relations, a careful, well-planned strategy is a must, he says.

"I think companies are very much on the defensive, the reason being that a lot of them want to reduce or contract their work force. But they have to be careful about the manner in which they do it and that they do it lawfully," Wicka says. "I think to a large extent the unions would be (defensive), too, because they're probably going to lose members of their union. Companies have to be extra careful right now. You can do a reduction; you just have to do it in a proper manner."

Union negotiations are rarely easy. And that can lead to problems down the road.

"I do think that tensions are high, and it's been that way for a while now since we haven't really been able to climb out of the economic slowdown. So each side has been under a certain amount of pressure for the last couple of years," Wicka says.

David Wilkinson, meanwhile, is business manager for the Jamestown-based Local 106, Electrical Workers IBEW AFL-CIO. The union has 193 members, according to the most recent Business First list of labor unions.

According to Wilkinson, his local and the companies it works with pride themselves on mutual respect. That goes a long way toward maintaining a healthy relationship.

"We work in partnership with management," he says. "It's not necessarily us against them in my world. We have to work together in order for them to operate their business and for us to supply the manpower. So (the downturn) really hasn't changed our relationship."