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EIGHT THINGS EMPLOYERS DO TO BLOCK UNIONS
Union-busters follow a script — that's why it's easy for us to tell you what to expect from them. Here are a few common lies busters tell to try and dissuade workers from organizing. “Having a union will ruin our ‘family’ work environment. Please give us another chance.” Your employer might warn that with a union, there will be new rules and less flexibility. They might also play on workers’ emotions, making you think just talk about a union has made them realize there are problems and they should treat you better or institute “open-door” policies. They might even say they’ll do things similar to what unions do, like institute grievance procedures.
“Joining a union may involve you in violence.” Your employer might circulate stories about violent incidents involving unions, even though they have nothing to do with CWA. They might also hire extra security guards around the time of the union election to plant the idea that “there might be trouble.” Sometimes they even encourage someone to take acts of violence against the workplace and workers’ property — vandalism, tire-slashing — and blame it on the union.
“The union can force you to strike — but when you strike, they won’t support you.” Your employer might suggest that soon after you vote for union representation, you’ll be forced out on strike whether you like it or not. They might try and scare you about how you’d survive on-strike, without your income.
“The union is only interested in your money — and you can’t afford union dues.” Employers do things like distributing “documents” or news clippings that are supposed to show that the union needs your money to survive. They might also pass out phony checks with union dues “taken out” and bring in a bag of groceries with the label, “What you could buy with one year’s union dues.”
“We won’t ever sign a union contract even if you vote for CWA.” Here’s management starting to show their cards: They’re mad, and they simply don’t want to deal with a union. (It has nothing to do with their “worrying” a union will be bad for workers.)
“When you sign a card for CWA, you sign your life away. They’ll control everything about your job.” Management often tries to convince workers that they’ll start getting orders from “union bosses”; that union officials will control job assignments and working conditions, and that workers will lose the ability to talk directly to management.
“You will lose your job.” Unbelievably, some employers go as far as to park empty moving vans near the job site just before the election — to give workers the idea that the company will leave if the union goes through. Companies also frequently hint at taking action against those who support the union.
ARE YOU READY? TEST YOUR UNION-BUSTING KNOWLEDGE How much do you know about union-busting tactics and things you might hear during an organizing campaign? Take this test and see if you're fighting fit. 1 Employers frequently try to play on the emotions of workers who are talking about organizing — either to make them feel bad about it or to scare them out of it.
2 “Union bosses” decide how and when there’s a strike; workers have no say in it.
3 If you become part of a union, you can no longer talk directly to your manager or supervisor.
4 It is legal to fire employees for union organizing activity.
5 Union workers make more money than non-union workers.
6 Employers that promise changes to policies and procedures and say they’ll give raises if workers abandon an organizing campaign generally keep their promises.
7 Unionization is risky because negotiations often result in workers getting less pay and benefits than they had before.
8 Union dues are offset by improvements in pay and benefits.
9 It was important to have unions back in the early 20th century, when things were really bad, but not anymore.
10 CWA is a strong union with the resources to support its workers and continue working for good middle-class jobs.
Check out this highlight reel of workers standing up to textbook union-busting tactics. Stay tuned, we’ll keep updating these with the latest and greatest stories.
CASE STUDY 1: CABLEVISION WORKERS VOTE TO UNIONIZE. On January 26th 282 Brooklyn Cablevision technicians and dispatchers in
Brooklyn voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Lo... CASE STUDY 2: SUPER SHUTTLE DRIVERS VOTE CWA. After a two-year fight for a union, Super Shuttle drivers at Denver International
Airport voted overwhelmingly for CWA representation. Overcoming tw... CASE STUDY 3: T-MOBILE CONN. FORMS FIRST U.S. UNION T-Mobile technicians in Connecticut
became the company's first U.S. workers with union representation, voting to join CWA-TU. Overcoming a... CASE STUDY 4: STONY BROOK ASSISTANTS WIN CONTRACT Research assistants at Stony Brook University in New York stood tough for
10 years, organizing, mobilizing and calling out management for trying to... Agent; Bargaining AgentA person acting for an employer or a union; a labor organization that is the exclusive representative of all employees in a bargaining unit, both union and non-union members.Bargaining unitA grouping of employees that a union represents or seeks to represent and that is "appropriate" (criteria include being a community of interest, not including supervisors) for collective bargaining purposes.Captive-audience meetingMeetings employers often force workers to attend during the workday with the express purposes of communicating anti-union propaganda.Check-card neutrality, card-check election/authorizationProvision that an employer will recognize a union without an election if the majority of workers sign a petition or authorization cards indicating their support of the union.CheckoffA provision, generally found in the collective bargaining agreement, that allows union dues, assessments and initiation fees to be deducted from the pay of union members who decide to use the check off. The employer then transfers the payments to the union on a scheduled basis.Collective bargaining; collective bargaining agreement (CBA)A method of mutually determining wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment through negotiations between representatives of the employer and the union. The results of the bargaining are set forth in a collective bargaining agreement, or CBA.Good-faith bargainingThe duty to approach negotiations with a sincere resolve to reach a collective bargaining agreement. This includes sending properly authorized representatives to bargaining sessions and meeting at reasonable times and places and as frequently as may be necessary to avoid major delays.GoonDerogatory term for a union activist.Grievance, grievance proceduresA formal complaint usually lodged by an employee or the union alleging a misinterpretation or improper application of one or more terms in a collective bargaining contract. The method for dealing with grievances is through a grievance procedure negotiated in the union contract. If a grievance cannot be settled at the supervisory level, it can be appealed to higher levels of management, and finally to arbitration if so provided.Landrum-Griffin ActPassed by the U.S. Congress in 1959 and officially known as the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, it resulted from improper relationships between management leadership and labor leadership. The act provided for the regulation of internal union affairs, including the regulation and control of union funds; it also restricted certain external union activities and authorized states to process cases that fall outside the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board.LockoutShutdown of a worksite by the employer to discourage union membership or activity or to force employees to meet the demands or economic terms of the employer.MediationThe attempt by an impartial third party to bring the parties in a dispute together and assist them in reaching settlement. The mediator, however, has no power to force or award a settlement but works instead to persuade the parties to reach agreement.Mohawk Valley FormulaThis is basically the union-busting template still in use today. Thought to have been used first by the by the Remington Rand corporation in Ilion, New York during a strike in 1936-1937, the plan includes discrediting union leaders, frightening the public with the threat of violence, using local police and vigilantes to intimidate strikers, forming puppet associations of "loyal employees" to influence debate, fortifying workplaces, employing large numbers of replacement workers, and threatening to close the plant if work is not resumed.National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)/Wagner ActA 1935 United States federal law that limits how employers may react to private-sector workers who work to organize unions, engage in collective bargaining and take part in other activities in support of their demands. The key principles are encouraging collective bargaining, protecting workers' exercise of freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment.National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); NLRB electionThe NLRB is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices.Outsourcing, contracting out, sub-contractingSending jobs that used to be completed by employees of a company out to vendors for completion and/or using vendors overseas to do certain jobs rather than American workers.PicketA form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place to draw attention to a cause (sometimes called an informational picket) or dissuade others from going in.Prevailing wageThe hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area.Prohibited practicesThe NLRA established things employers may not do related to union organizing:
What act increased management rights when a union is attempting to organize a group within an organization?Explanation: A) Following a series of severe strikes in 1946, the Labor-Management Relations Act (also known as the Taft-Hartley Act) was passed in 1947 to limit union power. The law increases management's rights during an organizing campaign.
When workers stop production by refusing to work it is a union strategy known as?primary. When workers stop production by refusing to work, it is a union strategy known as a .... strike. The purpose of a strike is to: -attract public to an impassion a labor dispute.
What is management's top priority when having to work with unions in the organization?What is management's top priority when having to work with unions in the organization? procedures for most sectors of private industry.
What is the best method to avoid becoming defensive when receiving feedback?What is the best method to avoid becoming defensive when receiving feedback? Let the speaker finish and ask questions afterward.
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