{"id":34432,"date":"2021-11-09T09:01:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T14:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gofleet.com\/?p=34432"},"modified":"2023-12-09T22:33:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T03:33:57","slug":"dash-cams-and-unions-a-teamster-teaches-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gofleet.com\/dash-cams-and-unions-a-teamster-teaches-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Dash Cams and Unions: A Teamster Teaches Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creating a successful dash cam program within your fleet requires a few key ingredients. Optimal installation, platform integration, driver coaching<\/a>, clear company policies and rewards programs are all important factors to consider. As we\u2019ve mentioned in <\/span>this<\/span><\/a> post, getting your drivers’ buy-in is the lynch pin to any successful program; this is especially true for businesses that employ union drivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s understandable that unions will have questions and concerns on behalf of their members regarding tracking technology; how it works, but more so how it will be used. That’s why the most successful dash cam programs are those that put the needs, opinions and safety of their drivers first.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Hamill, a Business Agent at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, began studying video-based safety back in 1994, when cameras were first being used in ambulances. Since then, Hamill has helped design strategic risk-management policies as part of successful collective bargaining agreements that advocate for video-based safety technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As an expert in strategic planning for ambulance and passenger transit companies, Hamill brings more than 30 years of experience in transportation, training, and risk management. An expert on safety change management, Hamill knows how to craft responsible dash cam programs that work for companies, drivers and their unions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamill offers recommends the following four best practices to implement a responsible and successful dash cam program for union drivers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Best Practice No. 1: Engage the Union, First<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Driver and asset safety is the entire purpose for creating a dash cam program, and unions and fleet companies have the shared goal of keeping drivers safe. For these reasons, companies are advised to value and build on their union partnerships by engaging the union prior to any rollout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest tip to companies with union drivers is this: before going to your drivers, get the union to buy in first,\u201d Hamill says. \u201cNot going to the union first can lead to so many issues down the line. If, for example, the union hears about an issue first, they may want to shut down the initiative entirely. That can set a precedent that\u2019s hard to overcome.\u201d When unions help in crafting the policies and rollout, future misunderstandings are avoided, and everyone wins.<\/span><\/p>\n

When beginning the dialogue with unions, Hamill recommends that companies communicate the many benefits of video-based safety for drivers. To fully articulate such benefits, says Hamill, “use data and proof points from other companies to really show the value of cameras.\u201d This means expressing, with evidence, such benefits as:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n