Ken Margolies, partner at Margolies, Potterton and Associates, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss Union Search, a service helping labor organizations fill key staff positions. Margolies explored the growing need for executive search services in unions, the challenges of managing internal politics during hiring processes and strategies for objective candidate evaluation.
He explained that Union Search emerged from a growing demand for assistance filling high-level union staff vacancies. Many labor organizations lack the time or resources to conduct thorough nationwide searches for top talent, he said. Additionally, some unions seek neutral third-party involvement to mitigate internal politics during hiring decisions. Margolies and his team leverage their extensive labor movement networks and experience to identify qualified candidates for roles ranging from local union leadership to statewide executive directors.
He said the company has developed a structured process to minimize political influence in hiring decisions. This includes facilitating objective discussions focused solely on candidates' qualifications and interview performance, rather than personal relationships or preconceptions. Margolies emphasized the importance of having search committee members articulate specific reasons for their preferences and convince their colleagues, moving beyond vague "gut feelings" to reach consensus on the best candidate.
Union Search combines deep labor movement knowledge with professional executive search practices. Margolies highlighted how their team's background in various unions allows them to understand the unique culture and needs of different labor organizations. This expertise helps them efficiently screen applicants, eliminating those lacking relevant experience while identifying promising candidates who might be overlooked in a traditional hiring process.
Listen to the full episode to hear more insights from Margolies on Union Search's role in strengthening labor leadership.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
