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Facts and Frequently Asked Questions about Unionbusting
What is Unionbusting? The term unionbusting
describes the planned course of action to stop workers from organizing
a union or to destroy a union already in the workplace.
Who are Unionbusters? Unionbusters are professional
consultants or lawyers, who may represent a legal consortium or
consulting firm. These individuals or firms advertise their ability to
manipulate the labor law system and specialize in advising employers on
how to thwart union organizing drives or how to decertify unions.
Unionbusters usually self-identify as ‘union avoidance firms,’
‘management consultants,’ or ‘labor consultants.’
What do Unionbusters Do? Unionbusters offer legal
services, advice and consultation, training seminars, workshops and
materials for management and supervisors, and a variety of targeted
anti-union propaganda for distribution to employees, including videos,
posters, leaflets, flyers and giveaways. Unionbusters’ sophisticated
advice, training and materials help an employer create a sense of
dissension and division among employees during an organizing campaign
and spread misinformation about the union before workers vote in a
union representation election. Additionally, “consultants advise
management on how to stall or prolong the bargaining process, almost
indefinitely—bargaining to the point of boredom…”1
Why Haven’t I Heard of These Firms? Unionbusters
operate under the radar intentionally. Unionbusters often provide
material and instructions behind the scenes while the employer’s
management and middle-management/supervisory staff carry out the actual
communications with workers. In this way, the unionbuster does not
deal directly with employees and, as a result, may avoid having to
disclose financial reports about such activity to the U.S. Department
of Labor. The unionbuster’s name or firm is not used or referenced in
the anti-union materials distributed to employees, further masking the
unionbuster’s involvement in orchestrating the anti-organizing
campaign. More importantly, the anti-union company is rarely called on
to divulge that it hired a unionbuster or reveal the specifics of such
expenditures. Therefore, without a paper trail, unionbusters are hard
to detect, underreported, and not in the public eye.
Who Uses Unionbusting Firms? 75 percent of employers facing a union organizing drive hire anti-union consultants.2
How Successful are Unionbusters? It is no coincidence
that as the unionbusting industry has grown, the rate of union
membership has declined. A unionbuster recently profiled in FORTUNE
magazine had ‘won’ 32 of 35 organizing drives in 2003 for his clients.3 Unionbusters
even go so far as advertising their rates of success. One firm, Labor
Relations Institute, now boasts a money-back guarantee on its website:
“If your organization purchases an LRI Guaranteed Winner Package and
the union becomes certified, the Labor Relations Institute will refund
the full cost of the package.”4
Seven Sophisticated Unionbuster Techniques
- Supervisors as Frontline Soldiers: Supervisors,
who themselves have no legally protected right to be represented by a
union, are manipulated into delivering anti-union letters, speeches,
and informal chats prepared by unionbusters, essentially doing the
dirty work of the unionbusters and management.
- One-on-One Meetings: During organizing drives, 78 percent of workers are forced to attend closed-door or isolated meetings with supervisors.5
These aren’t friendly impromptu chats, but well-planned meetings to
decipher employees’ feelings about the union and persuade them against
the union.
- Captive Audience Meetings: So-called ‘captive
audience’ meetings are held for employees during work hours to
disseminate propaganda against union representation and to attempt to
discredit the union. Employees are almost always required to attend,
but union organizers may be intentionally disinvited. Often, the
meetings are rigged so that workers who are already against the union
are assigned to ask questions to sow misinformation.
- Delay: Unionbusters often attempt to delay union
representation elections by legal maneuvers so they have more time to
implement other tactics needed to increase tension, dissension and the
employer’s chance of winning the election.
- Divide & Conquer: The unionbuster creates
opportunities and crafts persuasive messages to make employees feel
that there is a tense division among staff concerning the union
election. They may go so far as to pit one group of employees against
each other, based on race or ethnicity.
- Letters, letters, letters: A unionbuster’s
specialty is hammering out materials—be it cartoons, leaflets or
management correspondence—to make the case against the union. 92
percent of companies involved in organizing drives mail anti-union
materials to employees’ homes.6
- Love offerings: In order to convince employees
that they don't need a union, unionbusters may advise clients to
provide indirect bribes, like unexpected increases in wages or benefits
or ‘feel good’ measures like free food and lottery tickets.
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