Responding to Union Organizing Campaigns

The following article provides an overview of the legal guidelines established by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) governing union organizing campaigns and key actions that management can take in response.  

First Signs of Union Contact with Employees

Unions may randomly appear at an employer’s locations to simply “test the waters” to see if they can stir up some interest amongst employees. This “cold call” tactic is usually very ineffective. Our union avoidance consultants have found it is much more likely for union organizers to appear at the request of a few disgruntled employees. Regardless as to how they arrive, at the first sigh of union organizing activity, management should do the following:

• The National Labor Relations Act has numerous rules and guidelines that govern how both the company and the union must behave at each phase of union activity. Violating any of these rules can have serious consequences.
• Individuals should not act or react independently,
• Contact human resources immediately,
• Work with HR to formulate a carefully thought out response plan.
• Call a union relations consultant, such as Hutchison Group, to provide guidance, training, next steps, advice, and negotiations if necessary.

Employee Rights (Section 7 of NLRB Regulations) 

“Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities… and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities…”

Examples of Employee Rights to Support A Union

• Talk with co-workers and encourage them to support the union
• Tell co-workers what a union can do for them
• Solicit co-workers to sign a union card
• Organize a committee of union supporters
• Attend union meetings
• Post messages on social media
• Hand out flyers outside work areas

Examples of Employee Rights to Oppose A Union

• Talk with co-workers and encourage them to oppose the union
• Tell co-workers what a union cannot do for them
• Ask co-workers to not sign a union card
• Organize a vote no committee
• Attend union meetings
• Post messages on social media
• Challenge the union’s claims and correct misinformation
• Hand out flyers outside work areas

NEVER Look at or Accept Authorization Cards

The key to every union organizing effort involves obtaining signatures on union authorization cards. To help get cards signed, the union may hold meetings in the community, visit employee homes, send copies by email, or hand them out to employees coming to or leaving work.

• If the union can get more than 50% of your employees to sign cards, it can demand immediate recognition and negotiations
• If the union can get more than 30% to sign cards, it can petition the NLRB for an election 
• If the union loses an election, it must wait one year before they can try again
• Therefore, in most cases the union will not petition for election until they receive at least 60% of signed cards, as they know many employees sign just to avoid being harassed, etc.

Avoid NLRB Prohibited Behaviors

To avoid violations of NLRB rules and regulations, our union avoidance consultants advise employers to remember the acronym “TIPS” which stands for the following:

No Threats – It is illegal to threaten or take actions, of any kind, against individuals for supporting a union

No Interrogation – It is illegal to question employees about their union views and activities, or those of their coworkers

No Promises – It is illegal to promise or imply that the company will grant benefits, of any kind, if they oppose the union

No Spying – It is illegal to spy or conduct any type of surveillance on employees to monitor their union activities

What Management Cannot Do in Response to Organizing

• Threaten, imply, or take actions to terminate, reduce pay, transfer to less desirable jobs or otherwise punish employees because of their union views
• State or imply that the company will close or move to another location if employees support or vote for a union
• Directly, or indirectly, inquire as to how employees view the union or their union activities  
• Promise, grant or imply that employees will receive better pay and benefits, or any other considerations to influence them against the union 
• Enforce company rules more strictly against union supporters, while being lenient toward pro-company employees (no double standards)
• Tell employees that the company will never grant the union’s demands and that there will definitely be a strike (violates “good faith” bargaining)

What Management Can Do in Response to Organizing

• Tell your employees that the company prefers to remain nonunion 
• Share that the company prefers to continue to deal directly with its employees, without intervention by an outside union 
• Refute any untruths in the union’s propaganda (Clear with HR) 
• Inform them that they will have to pay monthly union dues and be subject to the union’s negotiated rules
• Answer employee questions and discuss the campaign issues, providing you do not threaten reprisals, promise benefits, or interrogate them about their union views (Clear with HR)
• Point out the union cannot guarantee any improvements; everything will depend on what happens in union relation negotiations 
• State that the company is committed to maintaining a “union free” workforce

Supervisor Training is Essential for Success

A key factor in avoiding union activity, or properly responding to union organizing activity, is to provide employee and labor relations training for supervisors. Supervisors can serve as a deterrent or catalyst for union activity, and having them on board can mean a world of difference to your union avoidance strategies.

Hutchison Group Can Help Deter Union Organizing

Over the past 35 years, Hutchison Group’s employee relations consultants have helped many of the world’s best companies to develop highly efficient and productive workplaces, in both union and nonunion settings, and are experts in the area of union avoidance. For a complete list of our clients and to learn more about our HR and labor relations services, please visit our web page at www.hutchgrp.com