Residents and businesses are reaping the bounty while employees are relieved that the city won't lay them off. They're very proud of being more competitive than the private contractors. They feel much more secure in their position. Morale has really been uplifted. Now the guys are focusing on the quality of the work they're performing, not just the quantity.
Corporations increasingly do the same thing.
MichCon, the Detroit-based gas company, found it could save as much as 30 percent installing underground pipes by competitively bidding service between employees and private companies. Some of MichCon's employee units have become proficient enough to begin bidding on new lines of work and gathering new customers. It gets you all on the same page. You don't have any problem knowing where the focus ought to be, which is efficiency and total return to shareholders. Those interests often dovetail with those of unionized workers.