Union Member on Union (and Company) Leaders

I get email all the time from current union members. It’s usually hate mail containing all kinds of “thoughtful feedback” about things I should do to myself and asking me about my sleep (I sleep well, by the way…). Since most of this email can’t even spell the curse words right I don’t reprint it. However, I do occasionally get insightful emails like the one below (lots of great stuff in here for union leaders as well as company leaders):

Dear Sir:

And a very pleasant good morning to you.
I really don’t know how it happened, perhaps reading something on NPR or whatever, but your ’spot’ on the page caught my attention.

Allow me to introduce and explain myself and why I am writing.

I have been employed for the last  (almost) 31 years as an agreement employee on a major US railroad. I can speak of unions with a little bit of ‘authority’ I believe.
I subscribed to ‘the seven lies’ out of curiosity; and surprisingly, I am not in total disagreement with you! I guess it’s because of the failure of some of these organizations to ‘deliver’ on their empty and ‘fantastic’ promises.

SOMEthing is wrong when, at a regular meeting, five people show up and of that five, two are retired and bringing the day old doughnuts. Perhaps two active members are present, and of course, there is most likely the local political windbag there along with some ‘investigator’ (usually a disabled former employee) from some (usually) ambulance chasing law firm. This is a sad commentary, sir! Very sad.

Unions were born out of necessity. They are not some exclusive, elite prestigious organization. I needn’t go in to the history and genesis of all this because I can easily tell that your firm and your associates are educated, intelligent and learned folks, otherwise you would not be in the business you are in. But I digress. Unions were (originally) born to combat the corporate greed, disregard for the well being of employees and SAFETY. Let’s throw in MEDICAL insurance, also. I KNOW I am not receiving these benefits, along with somewhat fair work rules (debatable) because my employer LOVES me. To them I am a liability; even though people such as myself and my Brothers and Sisters are the ones who actually MAKE IT HAPPEN for these folks and generate the revenue so that they can make their millions and all their stock options etc etc ad nauseum. Yet we are the same folks that they exploit, abuse, cheat and intimidate to achieve their ultimate goal. It’s things like that that spawned unions. A fair piece of the ‘pie’, a safe place to work, fair pay etc. No, I donot think that some Detroit ghetto kid with barely an eighth grade education should have a job as a forklift operator in one of the “Big Three” automakers to the tune of seventy dollars an hour or what ever obscene amount they get. There’s something WRONG there. I’m TWICE as skilled as that individual, and I am only considered ‘Semi Skilled’ and my pay, albeit is a decent living, doesn’t come close to the forklift driver from the ‘hood.’  Strong Unionism? Yes. Fair? Absolutely not! I am not envious of thsi person, I just think there is a fine line between ’subliminal’ and ‘bizarre’ And we wonder why an automobile costs so much. There’s a start, wouldn’t you say? I am not so blind as to rule out what the executives get, either, so there is ‘fault’ if you will, enough to go around so that everyone gets their share. (Akin to ‘partisan ploitics’)

Sadly, I have come to the realization that perhaps in the ‘beginning’ unions served an important purpose. I don’t think anyone in their right mind will argue that. What is even more sad, is the fact that most of our leaders have lost sight of their objective, and have ceased to serve their membership. I have a real problem with some joker in Cleveland OH making six figures, who is so out of touch with his membership, and is probably ‘in bed’ with someone from the industry or playing golf with another, and acepting little ‘perks’ if they will relent on a certain point of contention on an upcoming negotiation. I have seen some terrible things happen where we have all but been sold out.

I donot even belong to the union that holds my contract becasue of a certain representative (if you want to call him that; I prefer ‘Company Whore”) continues to be re elected despite all his opposition. This ‘person’ ( I refuse to recognize him as a MAN) has consistently made agreements that are so detrimental to his membership, that he doesn’t even DARE set foot in Denver, as actual threats have been made on his life. And for THIS I am supposed to pay over one hundred dollars a month? Representation for WHAT? I received a lot of flak when I joined an opposing union, but I trust them more than the former. It’s a matter of who lies to yiou least, and who will screw you with less impunity!

I am cognizant of the goal and purpose of my employer is to make money for their stockholders. I own a chunk of Union Pacific and over the years, the stock has been very good to me and has allowed me to get rid of a lot of bills prior to retirement (47 days). I’m all about the company doing well. Unfortunately, Big Business has a mindset today that makes the ‘Robber Barons’ of the past look tame. What’s worse, our unions can’t even come CLOSE to competing with them at the so called “bargaining” table. How do you justify a Philly lawyer going against some Harley T-shirt wearing, surely not as educated and polished as the former in negotiations and expect to come out victorious? Do we still believe in the Easter Bunny? Our illustrious leaders aren’t even smart enough to get a real negotiator, to do our bidding. Michael Jordan surely wouldn’t be making the money he is making today in the NBA had one of our ‘negotiators’ been his agent. He’d be sweeping floors after the game!
Sir, I am not going to ramble on about this. Our unions have lost their vision, have strayed from their mission and are STUCK in the Fifties. Along with every other facet of life, things progress, things change, and life goes on. If one isn’t flexible, and ’strong enough to bend’ he/she will surely be left in the dust.

Yes, getting rid of a union is a Herculaen task in itself! It has been discussed many times among us rank and file. The down side is, that if we were to ;’decertify’ these folks, we’d have to wait an unacceptable amount of time before we could get a NEW organization to do our bidding, and that would leave us unprotected. I would not trust my employer for TWO SECONDS let alone the two years it takes for this process. We’d ALL be working for minimum wage, I’m afraid. Corporate greed is why there are unions. Unfortunately, the Unions have just become another corporation and are no better than the folks that they are supposed to ‘defend’ us against.

It’s too bad that we can’t “just get along”

Thank you for your time

I sent him the following reply (you can judge for yourself whether it was thoughtful or not…):

Thanks for your email. I appreciate your thoughtful analysis
and, like you say, I think we probably agree on more than we disagree
(that’s true of most union members I talk with).

Unions are not all bad, and some employers need a union to keep them
honest – although many unions don’t do a very good job of that. You
are also right that it is tough to decertify a union. I don’t know
your company, but if you think a decertification is possible I
wouldn’t assume that the employer will just turn around and screw you
if you get rid of the union. They know that you can turn right around
and organize another one and most companies would prefer to deal
directly with their employees.

Like you say, not all employers are honorable and they might take the
actions you fear while you are in between unions, but if the current
union isn’t representing you that’s probably a risk worth taking.

He gave me permission to post his original message on the blog and I thought it was something most employers could find useful. Not just about the mistrust many union members have toward their unions, but the fact that they look at companies just as suspiciously. It is so important to do the hard work of building trust, no matter what kind of environment (non-union or union) that you have in your workplace.

INK: June 25, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

In This Issue:

• EFCA Update
• Union Intimidation Up Close & Personal
• RAISE, Not RESPECT
• PLUS June Scoreboard, Only In A Union, and more…

EFCA Update

A bit of detective work uncovered another fraud perpetrated by Big Labor in attempting to persuade members of Congress that a new coalition of businesses supported the Employee Free Choice Act. Even though their website gives no list of names, the group attempted to claim 1000 members. We checked our LRI Database and discovered that the chairman is CEO of a life insurance company whose members are represented by OPEIU Local 277. Of course he would want all his competition unionized! Rick Berman, of the Center for Union Facts, dug behind the scenes to uncover the hoax. “Business Leaders for a Fair Economy is a front group for a few financial companies who stand to profit from forced unionization,” said Rick Berman. “Although they claim to be a ‘coalition of 1,000 businesses,’ it publicly turns out to actually be a hodge-podge of fewer than 200 non-profits, union consultants, and businesses that don’t even exist.”

As it becomes clear that Big Labor is desperate to keep the forced arbitration provision in the bill to protect unions’ failing pensions, they are once again attempting to frame the debate by ignoring the fact that the system is not broken, and focusing the discussion on a “working arbitration system.” Read our refutation to such a system on our blog.

Another prominent Democrat, Florida State Senator Rick Dantzler, has come out against the EFCA, another state business group (225 small businesses in Colorado) have come out supporting the bill, and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas is dancing around attempting to find a way to support a “proposal both business and labor could support.”

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FREE! EFCA Strategy Review & Vulnernability Audit

This has quickly become one of our most popular programs, in light of upcoming labor law changes. It is more important than ever to assess both the internal and external factors that contribute to your company’s vulnerability to union penetration, and formulate action plans to shore up any uncovered weaknesses.

• What are the most likely labor law changes, and how will they impact my vulnerabilities?
• What are the six strategies I can implement to strengthen my defense against union encroachment?
• When do I talk to my employees about unions? What do I say about unions?

CLICK HERE to schedule your free 30-minutes consultation with Phil Wilson, LRI’s President and General Counsel.

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Has SEIU Overreached?

Both sides are claiming victory in the recent Fresno battle between the SEIU and the breakaway National Union of Healthcare Workers. In the election for home healthcare workers asked to select a union to represent them, SEIU ultimately took the vote tally by a slim margin while the NUHW is challenging the election, claiming that SEIU engaged in tactics both unethical and illegal. The cost to SEIU was 1000 field workers tied up on the ground, and an estimated $10 Million or more spent on the campaign, only to emerge with a shallow victory and a tarnished reputation.

For a look at the detailed parallel with the U.S. quagmire in Vietnam, read this article. SEIU is in for a long, hard season of bitter conflict, as it continues to tangle with NUHW and UNITE-HERE, while attempting to lobby for the Employee Free Choice Act.

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Only In A Union

Shawn Clark, who was business manager of Somerville, NJ-based Local 455 of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, claims that all $85,000 that he spent on entertainment, $65,000 of it in go-go bars, was legitimate business expense. Clark was expelled from the New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters and fined $50,000, but still intends to plead not guilty to embezzlement charges.

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Union Intimidation Up Close & Personal

One of the Big Labor arguments attempting to frame the debate for the Employee Free Choice Act is an accusation that employers intimidate their employees during union organizing campaigns. Unfortunately for the unions, most evidence of intimidation points to unions and their members as the perpetrators of acts of violence and intimidation. This short collection of videos provides a glimpse into the reality of union intimidation, from the perspective of former union organizers who engaged in the practice, FBI bribery footage, and the experiences of employees selected as targets.

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Healthcare Tug-of-War

The nurses at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, CA, recently came to the conclusion that they didn’t need a union, and decertified the United Public Employees of California, which had represented them for twelve years. “We said, ‘You know what? Why bother?’ ” said Sue Washburn, the SRMC nurse who led the decertification effort.

Across the country in Boston, the states largest hospital group signed an agreement with the SEIU that restricted management’s ability to communicate about unions to their employees, leading to a recent win for SEIU at Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Although some hospitals or hospital management groups are pressured into signing such agreements, other will choose to fight back, and may find themselves targets of SEIU corporate campaigns. According to union officials, there are organizing campaigns targeting every hospital in Boston.

One labor consultant , Jeff Toner of Kennebunk, ME, describes such campaigns: “Corporate campaigns can target executive compensation, they can picket the homes of board members,” Toner said. “They make it as uncomfortable as possible for executives, and they cast aspersion on a hospital’s standard of care to the patient community.”

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Political Activism The New SEIU Export

The Service Employees International Union has announced it is establishing a huge member activist campaign across Canada. According to the union, members will use the political action program to mount campaigns and speak with politicians, to insure that SEIU-identified issues will remain on the agendas of politicians “at election time and every day in between.”

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SCORE BOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

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Employee Relations Tip Of The Month

Recognize those who volunteer in their community with a community service award.

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RAISE, Not RESPECT

Two laws intended to amend the National Labor Relations Act are headed to Congress.

The Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act (RAISE) would permit employers to pay unionized employers incentive wages outside the normal limits imposed by collective bargaining, giving management a way of rewarding those workers who show themselves to be more productive. This is good.

The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act (RESPECT) would reclassify management supervisors to make it impossible for them to legally engage in the kind of shop-floor activities that are a normal and essential aspect of their jobs, forcing companies to have to hire more workers to compensate, and depriving those companies of the expertise of their seasoned veterans. This is bad.

Lobby while you can!

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Raynor Accused of “Creative” Financing

According to UNITE-HERE sources, Bruce Raynor, the ousted co-president of the union, illegally transferred over $12 million dollars out of the union’s coffers and into the tills of union locals loyal to him, and to a consulting group with SEIU ties. Allegedly, those funds were then used to finance the succession of most of those locals from UNITE-HERE into a new union, which then affiliated itself with the SEIU.

John Wilhelm, the UNITE-HERE leader, has accused Raynor and Stern of orchestrating the split in order for SEIU to be able to encroach upon UNITE-HERE’s prime organizing turf, gaming and hotel industries.

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Bargaining Chip?

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Representative Steve King (R-IA) have introduced the Truth in Employment Act of 2009 in both houses of Congress. The bill seeks to protect employers from union “salts,” people who secure jobs for the express purpose of fomenting unrest in the company leading to union organizing efforts.

Salting is an age-old union tactic, and similar legislation has been presented several times during the recent decade, to no avail. One might wonder if it will be used as a bargaining chip in the EFCA-derivative debate.

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Your Union Dollars At Work

In Atlantic City, you can get a good glimpse of union dues hard at work. While the UAW is negotiating contracts for employees at Bally’s and Caesars, they are engaged in a “multi-million” advertising campaign trying to pressure the casinos.

Tired of taking it on the chin in the public arena, Harrah’s Entertainment has struck back with a radio spot of their own. “We have had more than 50 bargaining sessions with the UAW. … We’d like to agree on a contract that is reasonable, economically feasible and one that allows us to remain competitive in these difficult times.” Harrah’s says more ads are coming, although their spending won’t quite reach the level of the UAW media campaign.

With the union pouring millions into media, and the casinos having to fight back to protect their reputation, it’s a good time to be in the advertising business in Atlantic City. Casino employees, however, are seeing their pay raises frittered away. Good thing they voted in a union.

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Bank Of America’s Turn In Crosshairs

I’m sure Bank of America must be reeling. First, they loan $80 million to the SEIU for the construction of a new headquarters building. In return, Stern and company viciously attack the bank, staging protests outside Bank of America offices, called for the resignation of bank CEO Ken Lewis, and demanding improvements in wages, bargaining rights, and health care benefits for Bank of America workers through public campaigns and in testimony before Congress. Then, another union that is in the middle of a ferocious battle with the SEIU, files charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the SEIU and the bank, charging that the loans are illegal.

SEIU officials claim the charges are baseless, while Bank of American claims they are “being inserted into the middle of a dispute between two unions.”

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Branson Highlights Tough Reality

Said Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic, about his company’s relationship with Boeing, “If people in Seattle build our planes and deliver them on time and, to be frank, don’t go on strike, then we’ll continue to work with Boeing. If we have our airline completely messed up, with tremendous damage done to our own work force, then we’ll go to Embraer or Airbus.”

The machinists union better pay attention. Their recent strike began the rumblings of the possible gutting of the aerospace industry in the northwest, and by year’s end we may see the fallout. Boeing has already indicated that without proper concessions from the machinists, they will establish a new 787 assembly line elsewhere.

Other industries would do well to take notice. The government does not have the wherewithal to add Boeing to the “General Motors”-style bailout program.

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UAW Attempts to Shaft Wisconsin Children

While business executives are being excoriated in the media for using private jets, the UAW is attempting to keep afloat a posh UAW-owned golf resort that has lost $25 million over the last 5 years. The union is trying to secure $3 million in tax relief from township officials, seeking to rob the school districts of much-needed funding to keep alive the elegant union leadership getaway.

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-monthly and
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INK: April 9, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Reading The Tea Leaves on EFCA

In the couple of weeks since Arlen Specter’s blockbuster announcement that he would vote against cloture and (maybe) vote against EFCA, quite a few pundits have claimed the so-called “Free Choice” Act is dead for the near future. I’ve already argued that news of EFCA’s death is greatly exaggerated, but I’d like to point out a couple of observable facts that I think are worth considering as we handicap the future of EFCA.

It’s been interesting to observe how unions have responded to Specter’s announcement. Most interesting to me was that there wasn’t much of a response to the initial story at all.

read the rest of the article here…

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EFCA Update

The ground seems to be shifting almost daily beneath the feet of those on both sides of the EFCA battle. Specter – the “rogue” Republican that all thought would tip the hand in favor of EFCA supporters, has come out against the bill in current form, as have other Democrats. Some Republicans are beginning to feel they will have enough strength to filibuster the bill. Ripples went through the business community when Fed Ex announced that if Congress changed laws making it easier to unionize their business, they would cancel billions of dollars worth of aircraft orders. And as Representative Joe Wilson has pointed out, the health care industry could be negatively impacted where it matters most – at the level of patient care. All of this seems to bode well for opponents of the bill.

However, as we’ve been warning, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Even though Big Labor is still strutting about on the public front saying that they want the whole package as is, there have been many discussions of compromise, and alternative methods proposed of getting similar results through different means. This article is an example of 16 different steps that could be taken to mute the opposition voices to the current EFCA bill, while doing an end run to accomplish close to the same objectives.

This battle is far from over, and is now entering the creative phase. It is imperative to stay abreast of developments. One great way to do so is to check back regularly to Workforce Fairness Institute’s new EFCA news site. In addition to our regular updates, WFI’s effort is laudable for attempting to stay as “real-time” as possible.

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Do They Practice What They Preach?

We have seen this countless times, and often include similar circumstances in our ULP Charge of the Month: a labor union that supposedly fights for the rights of it’s members, doesn’t apply the same guidelines to it’s own staff and employees.

This recent incident involves members of the Air Line Pilots Association Professional and Administrative Employees (UALPAPAE), who are employees of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Remarked Jay Wells, president of United’s unit of UALPAPAE, “when it comes to the well-being and welfare of its own staff, ALPA management seems to adopt a different set of labor union principles.”

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UAW: The Good Life!

If you have any doubts about whether or not UAW officials (members) are feeling the strain in Motor City, check out their recently filed financial statement (known as the LM-2). LaborPains.org sifted through the details in a recent post to find that
every UAW officer made in excess of $141,000 in total compensation in 2008, and that over half of the staff made more than $100,000 in total compensation.

Additionally, the union expensed $98,775 on golf courses, another $75,492 at casinos, and over $150,000 at resort conference centers.

Even as UAW members of the Detroit Big Three (and other parts suppliers) are fearing for their very jobs, the UAW staff doesn’t seem to feel the strain.

Read over the LM-2 for yourself here.

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SEIU Hardball

What happens if a businessman stands up in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act? The SEIU demands his head on a silver platter. SEIU has found a new tool in it’s tool box for extracting legislative action on it’s behalf – government bail-out money.

If a company has received any government help at all, SEIU seems to believe that the leadership of such companies must be compelled to fall in line with the Big Labor viewpoint. One of the commentators on this Lou Dobbs news segment calls it “organizing legislatures.”

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Slush Fund Kick-Backs

According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, George Mason University’s John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy recently completed a new study showing that from 2000 to 2007, construction labor unions spent more than $1 billion in union wages to underbid nonunion contractors in a practice called “job targeting.” The practice negatively impacts the economy in many ways, including artificially inflating the cost of public construction projects, and diminishing the tax revenues collectible my municipalities.

It is also vastly unfair to non-union competitors. Current law allows a union to pay money to a company for the purpose of putting another company out of business. If a nonunion construction company engaged in the same conduct as a labor union, it would be prosecuted for violating antitrust laws.

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Hatfield vs. McCoy Truce?

In a move that shocked the world of labor relations, two unions that have long held a high degree of animosity toward each other seemed willing to bury the hatchet. According to the official SEIU blog, “In a dramatic agreement likely to accelerate the drive to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and rapidly promote unionization in the healthcare sector, the Service Employees International Union and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee today announced the signing of a transformative cooperation agreement.”

Under the pact SEIU and CNA/NNOC, the largest unions in the nation representing healthcare workers and registered nurses, respectively, will work together to bring union representation to all non-union RNs and other healthcare employees and step up efforts to enact Employee Free Choice.

The 1.8 million strong SEIU currently represents about 80,000 nurses, and the CNA/NNOC will be at 150,000 after it’s recently announced merger with two other nurses’ unions. The unions have said they will target the nations largest hospital systems in a concerted effort to unionize the nations nurses.

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APRIL SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

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Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Hiring good people is a key to a positive work environment. Resist the urgency to fill a position “quickly. “ Rather, hire deliberately, scrutinize attitude, and dig into why this person is looking for work. It often takes several interviews to get beyond the prepared answers to the real issues.

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Tough Dose of Reality for Strikers

At a small plywood plant in North Carolina, a protracted strike ended in a new contract, but only 25 of the 110 strikers getting their jobs back.

After 8 months on the picket line living on $150 per week of strike pay, most of those former employees are only now eligible for unemployment benefits. Some will hang on, hoping that the company will regain the market share it lost while the workers were on strike, and be able to afford them. Others will take a severance package and begin looking for employment elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the company, already down by almost half of it’s workforce since the inception of the strike, will attempt to claw it’s way back into competition.

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Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Paul S. Peters II & Brian Armentrout - WGA: $300,000

Jeffrey C. Harris – GMP: $5,048

Deborah Chichick – CWA: $1,440

Keith H. Cook – UTU: $47,079

Harry Keil - IAM: $55,000

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you
think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up
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If you use content from this newsletter please
attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and
include our website address: www.LRIonline.com

Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

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Your EFCA Early Warning System

In Today’s Issue: Your EFCA Early Warning System

Today, many company leaders heavily focus on earning quarterly profits and feel there’s ample time to react to union organizers.

Unfortunately, the news media poorly covers the ramifications the Employee Free Choice Act to businesses. This Act leaves no time to react. Even the so-called “compromise” proposals being floated about have one thing in common – very short to no election periods.

The problem is that in most cases companies have no idea union organizers are already soliciting employees to sign check cards.

Two months ago one of our consultants (a former union organizer himself) uncovered union organizers offering employees money to sign union cards at a Call Center in Missouri.  Yes, they’ll pay your employees money to sign a union card.  The employer was shocked to learn this.

And just a few weeks ago during some EFCA training we were conducting for one of our Casino clients another one of our consultants (another former union organizer who works with our clients to educate employees about the problems with unions) uncovered an “underground” card-signing effort during the summer that not one company manager had even heard about.

The signs were not apparent to the untrained eyes of company leadership.  As for our consultants…they are highly trained.  Many of our consultants actually worked as union organizers (and all of our consultants have been trained by former organizers).  They know the insider secrets to union organization. Our consultants are the best of breed “bloodhounds” who can skillfully spot early union organizing signs.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could train your managers to do the same thing these professionals can do almost “second nature”? It’s not as difficult as it sounds. Your leaders learn to do a really good job of observing employee behaviors for early signs of early union organization.

We talked last time about some of the basics – that the goal is not focusing on union campaigns, since the so-called “early warning sign” lists can change depending on your company’s culture or physical workplace. Instead the idea is to focus simply on behavior change.

Let me give you one quick example of what you might look for. The key is understanding what is going on behind the scenes. When we do our “Boot Camp” training for managers we have actual former organizers put them through an employee meeting – that way they get a chance to experience what it feels like through the eyes of an employees.

For example, the organizer may tell an employee who is reluctant to sign a card at the union meeting that if the boss finds out they’ve talked to an organizer that they will get fired. Then you start to think about how that employee might behave the next day at work. As you begin to imagine interactions between that employee and their manager you can quickly see how behavior might be different. That’s just one simple scenario – there are dozens more that are more nuanced – but hopefully you get the picture.

Let’s assume you’ve learned those lessons (if you don’t already have training developed to do this – or if you are looking at a way to add some “sizzle” to what you already do – you can look at our management-training materials <here>). What happens if your manager suspects that changed behavior is because of an organizing event?

Remember it only takes 50% plus one to unionize one department in your firm. The EFCA requires no election…only sign check cards. Departments with less than 25 people can be unionized within days. Time is of the essence.

At this critical time there are a couple of key issues. The first one is legal – your leaders must know and understand the legal “do’s and don’ts” so they don’t accidentally engage in illegal interrogation of employees. Most unions are shocked to hear this, but (unlike what you read about so-called “union-busters” on the web) one of our core principles in campaigns is “don’t cheat”.  As a labor lawyer, I take great pains to make sure each participant is immersed in that principle as a big part of our manager training. The bottom line for us is they comprehend what is right and legal is also what works best.

Since these situations are often a surprise to the first level leader (who may have gone through training months before) we teach them a quick script that gets them comfortable that they (and more importantly the coworker who they are talking to) know clearly that the conversation is not an interrogation. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get them comfortable with the script.

The second key issue is to make sure the first level leader takes the early warning sign seriously. In almost every one of the more than 10,000 union organizing events we have participated in there was at least one supervisor or manager who noticed the activity early on but never warned anybody about it because they didn’t think it was anything serious. That’s why we teach the “first breath” principle to managers during our training.

So it is critical for your managers to know exactly what to do to both RECOGNIZE and RESPOND to early warning signs of union organizing. If you haven’t already done this training (and maybe even if you have if it was just a legal lecture about the “do’s and don’ts” but didn’t cover some of the key concepts I’ve outlined here) do it NOW.

If you’re not a subject matter expert there are several good options. You can use some of our tools to deliver the content yourself (we know times are tough, so our “entry level” tool is a very inexpensive PowerPoint presentation you can download and start using TODAY). Our Tool Kit also contains a complete 3-hour training program you can deliver right out of the box.

Bigger organizations may want to consider having one of our former union organizers come in and deliver our “Jump Team” training directly to your leadership team. At the high end you can send your key “Jump Team” members to one of our 5-day Boot Camps where we put you through the same rigorous certification course our own consultants go through and where you earn certification as a counter-organizing “black belt” using our tools and “insiders” knowledge.

Whatever you do, the key is to take action TODAY. Things are likely to start happening very quickly.

To your success,

Phillip Wilson

Next Time: The Truth About “Union Scale” Wages

Unsung Hero of Saving Jobs

In Today’s Issue: Unsung Hero of Saving Jobs

Virtually anyone can do it. So it’s easily taken for granted. Even pooh-poohed by some in today’s gadgetized corporate world.

But if your first level leaders communicate regularly with employees – as little as once or twice a week – about “big stuff” you’ll massively improve your employee relations environment. Most companies who measure engagement find that it doubles when they do a good job of this. Some companies have seen improvements of 8 times or more.

Before we talk about the “big stuff” you should address with your employers, let’s take a closer look at this unsung hero of your workplace.

Your first level leaders – they are the critical link between a positive and engaged workforce or a negative, disengaged workforce vulnerable to union organizing activity.

Your first level leaders are top management’s only line of defense. How they handle this role is the difference in whether your company is vulnerable to a union organizing attempt or not. It is that simple.

Union Organizers, don’t just announce that they’ve decided to target your company. In all but the most rare cases the organizer hopes that your first notice of a campaign is the fax machine humming in your office with the petition from the Labor Board. And we’ve started lots of cases where that was management’s first sign that anything was wrong.

To the untrained eye, subtle early signs go undetected. Your leadership probably doesn’t know how to recognize early warning signals. When we train management teams in our 5-day “Boot Camp” training sessions we teach that you can’t just memorize “the list” that you picked up at the last labor law seminar you went to. Real union organizers – who we use to deliver our training – know that lists don’t matter because the signs could be different with your people – behavior matters.

You know how you can tell your spouse or your kid is pissed at you without them saying a word? That is noticing behavior changes. Do your first level leaders recognize behavior changes among the people who work for them?  Recognizing behavior change takes two important steps – paying attention to the “before” behavior (developed over regular and consistent interactions) and then looking for the “after” behavior.

This is where “big stuff” conversations comes in. The only way to rapidly develop your “before” model is by having regular conversations about something other than the day-to-day work that is going on. There is very little depth to these “line of fire” conversations about how many parts were shipped or when a machine will be back on line.

Instead “big stuff” conversations are about things like:

1. How did you end up here?
2. Where are you headed?
3. What do you like about your job?
4. What would you change about your job?

These conversations are not just highly motivating to employees, but they also quickly give you some “baseline” behavior about how open or closed an employee is and how positive or negative they are. By the way, this may sound like it’s a “union avoidance technique” or some psycho mumbo jumbo. It’s not. It is just simple leadership.

Once you have established a rapport and a “baseline” with an employee you lead you now will have what you need to understand when behavior changes. And when behavior changes for any reason all you have to do is ask, “what’s up – you’re acting different than you usually do (name specifically what has changed) – is there something you want to talk about?” Most times that’s all you have to say.

Again, this isn’t some union avoidance technique. For most leaders the answer to that last question will never in their whole career have anything to do with unions. But there will be something causing that change in behavior. The fact that you noticed – and asked about it – a lot of the time is all that really matters to that employee.

If there is something bigger going on, you have a chance to be a resource early on, when you can actually help resolve the situation. And like I said, 99 times out of 100 that will have nothing to do with unions. It will usually be a problem with a coworker or maybe a problem at home. But whatever it is, you can help. And that’s leadership.

What if it is a union organizing effort? We’ll talk about that next time.

To your success,

Phillip Wilson

Next Time: Your Early Warning System

INK: February 27, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Solis vs. Corruption

Hilda Solis was confirmed as Secretary of Labor this week. After a bumpy confirmation process in which her nomination was held up by questions about her role as a lobbyist for the Free Choice Act while also serving in Congress, she was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate.

Unions are happy with Solis, who served on the Board of American Rights at Work, a non-profit, union-funded lobbying organization whose purpose is to garner for the Free Choice Act. Businesses are wary for the same reason. I’m sure she is anxious to get to work. She has big shoes to fill.

read the rest of the article here…

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SEIU Attempts “Hostile Takeover”

The SEIU again displayed its true colors by launching a sophisticated and well-coordinated attack on another union, the California Nurses Association (CNA). The SEIU is apparently attempting to take over the CNA-NNOC by soliciting SEIU-allied individuals to run for the CNA-NNOC national board of directors, as well as attempting to harass and intimidate the CNA-NNOC leadership.

The strategy included the impersonation of nurses through the creation of a false “RN” group with a fake website, e-mail address, and phone number. Multiple smear mail pieces and e-mail alerts were distributed, along with phone calls soliciting recruits to run for the CNA-NNOC board on SEIU’s behalf. SEIU brought in staff from around the country for the campaign, that in true Big Labor fashion included uninvited home visits to CNA-NNOC members.

SEIU spokesperson Michelle Ringuette first denied the attack, but when faced with overwhelming evidence, admitted to the campaign, defiantly saying SEIU would do everything in its power to protect its interests.

**********

CNA on Steroids?

On Feb 18th, three nurses unions announce their intent to merge into one larger organization, calling it the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee. The three unions involved are the California Nurses Association-National Nurses Organizing Committee, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Their combined membership would total 150,000.

Of their five stated goals, the one to which they have committed the majority of their operating budget is the organizing of all nonunion direct care RNs in the U.S. With the recent attack by SEIU upon the CNA, it can also be presumed that they desire to become a harder target against such attacks in the future. Thus, a majority of their efforts would seem to be spent in organizing, union in-fighting, and of course, political activism. Hardly seems there will be much time (or money) left over to work for the betterment of their members.

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CWA Attempts Stiff-Arm Tactics

Members of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) were falsely informed that they have no right to resign from formal union membership and would face hefty fines if they choose to continue to work if CWA ordered a threatening strike.

With the help of National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, two New Jersey AT&T employees filed unfair labor practice charges against the CWA Local 1101 union for such misconduct. Union officials have no legal power to punish nonmember employees for honoring their commitments to their employer, and they have attempted to confuse the issue by telling CWA union members in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey that any attempt to resign from union membership is prohibited.

“It’s particularly despicable to threaten workers with fines if they refuse to abandon their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “All workers should be free to support their families, free from ugly threats by union bosses.”

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EFCA Counter-Measure

The fight against the Employee Free Choice Act took a new turn on Feb 25th. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S. Carolina) introduced a bill, the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA), that will guarantee the right of American workers to have a secret ballot election on whether to unionize. SBPA has also been introduced in the House with over 100 co-sponsors.

This is a commendable effort, but regardless of the outcome, keep in mind we have warned that Big Labor may well compromise their effort on EFCA by giving up the elimination of the secret ballot process in order to retain the mandatory arbitration provision.

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Case Against EFCA

A detailed study recently released thoroughly debunks the claims made by proponents of the EFCA. Written by noted legal scholar Richard Epstein, it addresses the EFCA’s three provisions, and soundly criticizes the justification supporters cite for the bill. It is a lengthy but readable document (download PDF).

Says Epstein, “The bottom line therefore is that the passage of EFCA will create huge dislocations in established ways of doing business that will in turn lead to large losses in productivity.”

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EFCA Awareness Problem

A new poll conducted by the Employment Law Alliance indicates that 75% of American workers are still completely in the dark about the Employee Free Choice Act. Here is a summary of the findings:

• Only one-quarter reported that they were aware of the EFCA

• Slightly over one-quarter (26%) say they support the EFCA, and nearly as many (24%) oppose it

• Fewer than one-third (30%) of those surveyed support replacing a secret-ballot election with a “card check” system to determine union representation; 35% were opposed

• Asked about the use of government-supervised, binding arbitration to settle a contract in the event of a deadlock, 37% favor this while 22% were opposed

Pro-business interests have a long way to go to get the public informed and on their side!

**********

FEBRUARY SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Have employees interview each other about their “highlight moments” at work – make sure that they describe in detail. Write down or record the interviews (audio or video) and start collecting them. When you have a bunch of them, bind them in a book or put them together as a movie and give them out to employees. This can have a long-lasting positive impact.

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UFCW vs. Grocers

The United Food and Commercial Workers is mixing it up with three California grocers. Last year, pharmacists voted to join what is called UFCW’s Professional Division. The union asked to sit down with representatives of Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs and negotiate a separate contract. The three grocers’ UFCW contracts don’t expire until 2011, and they don’t believe they’re obligated to negotiate until then.

In 2003 and 2004, the UFCW and the three grocers engaged in a rough-and-tumble labor battle that included a five-month strike and lockout.

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Union Pockets

Here’s a quick glimpse of some 4th Quarter union expenditures:

* Teamsters spent $373K lobbying government in 4Q

* American Airlines pilot union spent $120K lobbying in 4Q

* Southwest Airlines pilot union spent $40K lobbying in 4Q

* Air Line Pilots Association spent $230K lobbying in 4Q

**********
Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you
think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up
by visiting:

http://lrionline.com/free-stuff/newsletter-signup

If you use content from this newsletter please
attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and
include our website address: www.LRIonline.com

Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: January 22, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Online Organizing

A really interesting article in The Nation about the promise – and perils – of online organizing. Among the most interesting things it discusses is how the web 2.0 world is actually a threat to unions in the traditional sense of the word.

The “distributed” nature of the web can destroy hierarchical structures (just as it has in the business world). Where a group of workers can self-organize around a problem, why do they need to fund and deal with the politics of a super-structure with its own agenda? They don’t.

read the rest of the article here…

**********

SEIU Meltdown

The SEIU International Executive Board approved plans to split apart one of it’s largest locals, United Healthcare Workers-West. The rift between UHW and SEIU international goes back to April of 2007, when the local’s leader, Sal Rosselli, questioned SEIU practices that were aligning the union against groups advocating for better patient care. In response to the IEB vote, UHW’s executive board notified SEIU President Andy Stern that rank-and-file members are calling for a disaffiliation referendum for the entire local.

SEIU has repeatedly used strong-arm tactics to replace leaders of dissident locals with those loyal to Stern. Three such Stern allies, Annele Grajeda, Tyrone Freeman, and Rickman Jackson, have all been implicated in corruption scandals involving millions of dollars of union funds.

Since the vote, tensions have increasing. In Oakland, and off-duty policeman apparently hired by SEIU as a private investigator aggressively photographed members of the local union and assaulted a UHW staff member.

**********

UFCW Pension Woes Stacking Up

Ron MacDougall, a former employee of a pork plant on Prince Edward Island in Canada, received a letter informing him that the pension benefits were being cut in half. The UFCW-run plan had been seriously underfunded, and serious problems came to light several years ago about the way union heads mishandled investments.

Another pension run by the UFCW for the Dunsmore, PA, Department of Public Works, was announced to be insolvent. The pensions of other public service workers of the borough remain intact, as they were not handled by UFCW. The DPW’s involvement in the UFCW pension “was a decision by whomever was running DPW at that time, and I mean on the union side. It’s their call,” said Jerry Hart, borough council vice president.

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Big Labor Consolidating Power

David Bonior, a former Michigan congressman and a member of President Barack Obama’s economic-transition team, facilitated a meeting of members of the AFL-CIO and breakaway rival Change To Win. The presidents of twelve unions representing most of the unionized workers in the country met to discuss how to reunite the labor movement.

According to a released statement, “The goal of this meeting is to create a unified labor movement that can speak and act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans.” The real target is to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the new alignment of the Congress and White House with pro-union issues. “Political action on the national level may be enhanced,” said Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

**********

Only In A Union

A teamster organizer broke into a youth camp run by the rival Fraternal Order of Police and installed surveillance equipment, purchased with Teamsters funds. He was attempting to catch Metro police officers working at the camp who he believed were drinking after hours.

At the time, the Teamsters Union was locked in a struggle with the FOP for the right to represent Metro police officers in negotiations with the city.

**********

UAW “Roach Motel”

A machine operator at an automotive parts plant gathered signatures of more than half of the 150 workers seeking to drop their representation by UAW Local 19. However, the UAW fought back, stating that the multi-plant local would have to be decertified not just at this plant, but at all 12 plants now operated by the owner of this particular plant.

“The issue is that they make it very easy to get into the union but they make it very difficult to get out. It’s sort of like the roach motel,” said Glenn Taubman, the attorney representing the employee’s petition.

Unions want to have their cake and eat it too. Although it is possible to organize distinct units within one facility, as long as it can be shown that they have some commonality that qualifies them as a “bargaining unit,” the unions will throw up any smokescreen to impede such a unit being decertified.

**********

Teamsters: Strike vs. Talk

Rather than do their research prior to entering negotiations, the Teamsters allowed 2 votes & 10 weeks of a strike before submitting an information request to the employer. In a statement released to a local paper, Metalworks President and CEO Tom Paine asserted, “the union is just now asking the company for negotiating information, a process that should have been done months ago…The union leadership has caused a severe economic hardship to all members because of a strike that they initiated and continue to promote. Instead of working through the economic and competitive challenges, the Teamsters union instructed their membership to walk off their secure jobs.

**********

JANUARY SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Know your HR law! The more competent HR personnel are at their job, and the more the better job they do at answering employee questions in understandable language (sans jargon), the more confidence your employees will have in their opportunity to flourish.

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Top Ten for 2008

National Legal Policy center’s top union corruption stories of last year.

10) Senate appointment scandal has union connections.

9) ACORN is knee-deep in voter-registration and internal fraud.
Los Angeles SEIU chieftain is exposed, dismissed.

7) Law enforcement agents arrest Operating Engineers local thugs.

6) Union investments fuel progressive activism.

5) Mexican unions are bastions of government favoritism and corruption.

4) Labor Department puts more teeth into financial reporting rules.

3) Federal prosecutors expose New Jersey construction locals.

2) Five dozen Gambino family mobsters plead guilty.

1) Barack Obama is elected president.

**********

Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you
think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up
by visiting:

http://lrionline.com/free-stuff/newsletter-signup

If you use content from this newsletter please
attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and
include our website address: www.LRIonline.com

Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: December 18, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Bailouts and Pay to Play

As unions prepare for the upcoming epic battle over the so-called “Free Choice” Act, they were dealt a couple of embarrassing public setbacks last week. The Detroit 3-UAW bailout and the “pay to play” scandal in Illinois create a lot of questions about union claims of fighting for the little guy at a time when they really need that narrative to resonate with voters and their supporters in Congress. What impact, if any, will these have on the push for the Free Choice Act in the next few months?

read the rest of the article here…

**********

Under the Spotlight

The media attention over the Big Three/UAW Bail-Out battle has helped to reveal the real nature of the impact of unionization on a business, and on a national economic and political structure. With millions of dollars funneled from the dues of hard-working Americans to coerce politicians to do their bidding, the UAW has played their hand such that Bush will now likely defy Congress to forward their interests, even though many economists (not on union payroll) believe that bankruptcy reorganization would be the best hope for a viable American auto business. This despite the obvious impediments to profitability created by massive legacy costs and crippling work rules imposed by unions. It will be telling of the real power bought by Big Labor if they weather this storm enough to secure passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

**********

A Tangled Web

Big Labor has many creative ways to spend it’s money and wield it’s power, including apparently negotiating with corrupt government officials to attain another pro-labor senator. Blagojevich was poised to trade a job provided by the SEIU in exchange for such a senatorial appointment as just one of his many lucrative exit strategies.

The SEIU had provided more $1.8 million to Blagojevich campaigns, and in exchange has been the recipient of several executive orders handing over more than 49,000 state workers into the fold of an SEIU local, tripling it’s income from $7 million in 2005 to $21 million in 2007. The swath of corruptions runs wide and deep, tying the corrupt ACORN with Blago, the SEIU, and convicted financial swindlers Tony Rezko and Suart Levine.

**********

Only In A Union

In another revelation of the SEIU playing money games, the union set up a charitable organization as a method to either launder mob money, create an untraceable slush fund, funnel more money to politicians, or all of the above.

“Of the 5,000-plus charities we’ve looked at, I don’t think we’ve ever seen one that didn’t spend anything on its charitable programs,” said Sandra Miniutti, vice president of Charity Navigator, an online rating service.

**********

Twilight of U.S. Factories?

Herman Cain, noted businessman and radio talk show host, relayed this recent experience:

“I attended two corporate Board meetings with some of my CEO peers. I did not even have to raise the subject [of the EFCA], but it came up in the course of conversation. So I asked them what they thought the impact on business in America would be if the “Employee Free Choice Act” passed in Congress. Unanimously, they predicted that the proposed legislation would be the end to manufacturing and production in the United States of America.”

It is not only heavy industry that will face the onslaught. As we have highlighted several times, industries that never gave unionization a second thought will now fall directly into the crosshairs.

Mr. Cain ended by sounding the same alarm bell we’ve been ringing for over a year:

“So employers, get proactive if you are not already and then talk to your people about the pros and cons of ‘to unionize or not.’”

**********

DECEMBER SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Partner up with local service providers (dry cleaner, oil change/detail, shoe repair, meal delivery, etc.) and try to negotiate discounts for your employees and on-site pick up and delivery. This will help them save time, money and is a nice perk – plus it helps support another local business.

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Jeanette McFarland – GMP: $7,604

Tarris Dallas – USW: $105,000

Kathleen Kordish – USW: $20,304

Mary Schaeuble – USW: $3,379

Glen Gard – IAM: $90,500

Charles Bohanon – BLE: $18,074

William Sargent – AFGE: $800

**********

Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you
think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up
by visiting:

http://lrionline.com/free-stuff/newsletter-signup

If you use content from this newsletter please
attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and
include our website address: www.LRIonline.com

Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: November 18, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Why Campaigns Matter

I received the following email today from someone who got my “Unions: The 7 Lies You Must Know” email series. I thought I would share it. My response follows. Here was the email from “localunion21″:

Hello Philip
I have read your seven lies and have a question for you. I work non-union in Omaha Nebraska making $17.00/hr with no health benefits for my family and no plan for retirement.

I was approached by a union organizer and he did use some of the info you provided.

read the rest of the article here…

**********

Boeing Strike The Last Straw?

In 1991, former Boeing Chairman Frank Shrontz warned civic leaders in a speech to the Seattle Chamber of Commerce that aircraft could be built in other parts of the country for 30-to-40 percent less than Washington State. “Could Puget Sound turn into an aerospace rust belt of the 21st century, complete with padlocked factories, unemployment lines and urban blight?” Shrontz asked then. “It certainly could.”

We soon may add to Shrontz’s titles that of prophet. The recent plight of the Big Three automakers, Boeing’s loss of 200 production days over the last two decades due to strikes, and the hardships to parts suppliers across the country impacted by the latest strike, have many industry analysts predicting Boeing will move out of state at the first opportunity.

**********

Strike Forces Jobs Out

Striking employees at an American Standard plant in New Jersey didn’t make out as well as the Boeing machinists. The company eliminated 20-30 jobs and moved a bathtub production line to another plant. The line being moved is a high-volume sales item and the company said keeping the supply of products open to customers was critical. Said plant manager Paul Lee, “We will do whatever we must to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs.” When asked if other work might be moved from the plant, Tracy Benson Kirker, a spokesperson for the company, reiterated that the company would keep all of it’s options open.

**********

OLMS Busy Last Year

During the fiscal year ending in September 2008, the Office of Labor-Management Standards obtained 102 convictions and 130 indictments, with restitutions totaling more than $3.2 million. Since 2001, the OLMS has secured court orders of more than $91.5 million. That’s a lot of union dues!

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Only In A Union

Employees of UPS who are members of Teamsters Local 804, filed a report charging that union officials colluded with UPS management to divert almost $18 million from the local health fund to the union pension plan, while raising member health care co-payments. The amount represents more than half of the health plan assets.

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Grocery Union Picking Up Steam

In 2003/2004, a 141-day strike and lock-out seemed to shatter the back of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in southern California. With a resurgence of energy and a more coordinated strategy, the UFCW is back on the prowl. “We are coming back,” said Jennifer Riddagh, who works at a Vons store in Thousand Oaks. “Things are pretty good right now.”

The UFCW has set it’s sights on the rapidly growing Fresh & Easy grocery chain. The company has opened 48 stores in Southern California and 49 in Phoenix and Las Vegas, with plans to expand to 200 stores by early next year.

Rick Icaza, president of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles, said “We realize that Fresh & Easy will be a major problem for us if we don’t do something about organizing it.”

**********

NOVEMBER SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Adopt a park close by your place of work and get a crew together to clean it up and maybe even add some new feature (playground equipment, flower garden, trees, etc.).

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Kevin Sherlock – NALC: $45,000

Krista Yeatts – IAM: $47,746

Kathleen Kordish – USW: $2,500

Eugene Huss – USW: $2,000

Grace Gaines – AFT: $15,597

Janet Johnson – AFGE: $11,251

Glenroy Richards – AFGE: $11,243

**********

Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you
think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up
by visiting:

http://lrionline.com/free-stuff/newsletter-signup

If you use content from this newsletter please
attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and
include our website address: www.LRIonline.com

Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: October 21, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

EFCA: No Time To Lose

We are only 2 weeks away from what at this point looks like a big win for Barack Obama and a substantial – perhaps filibuster-proof – Democratic majority in the Senate. Many people we’ve talked to over the last several months about the Free Choice Act have told us they are waiting until after the elections before they do anything. I have a feeling many of those will say that they are going to wait until the legislation passes before they take action after the election.

These “conservative” strategies seem logical. After all, why prepare for a change in the laws when you don’t even know what the rules are going to be? But the strategies are not logical. And they’re not conservative. They are reckless. Companies who aren’t fully engaged in devloping an action plan and educating new and incumbent employees right now about union cards are going to be sorry.

read the rest of the article here…

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Boeing Strikers Should Take Note

Daimler Trucks North America has scheduled a closure of a Porland, OR plant. The closure will send 900 machinists looking for jobs, as the production work is be shifted to climates with less union encumbrances in the Carolinas and Mexico. Striking Boeing machinists, represented by the same union representing the Freightliner employees, could drive Boeing to a similar move once production on the 737 comes to an end.

In a related reinforcement of the point, Boeing executive Fred Kiga, speaking at a Washington state aerospace industry conference, warned of the northwest becoming known as a “strike zone.” “I don’t think anyone would call this region an aerospace rust belt today,” he said. “But we cannot afford to become known as the strike zone either. The stakes are much too high.”

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McCain vs. Obama: Labor Policy

The Alliance for Worker Freedom has release a chart comparing the two presidential candidates on labor positions, including right-to-work, card check, and other key issues. Check it out!

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UFCW vs. Business Reality

The six Wal-Mart employees of a Tire & Lubrication Express department in a Canadian store probably thought they had finally cracked open the “evil empire” when they won a 3-year court battle over representation by the United Food & Commercial Workers union. Business realities soon hit home when the Express was closed due to the unprofitability of the venture adjusted for the new wage hikes. The employees were offered employment – non-union – at other Wal-Mart locations.

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More Cash from the UAW

Piling on to the huge Big Labor financial commitment to sway the November elections, the United Auto Workers launched a $3 million ad campaign in the manufacturing states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The campaign, supporting the Obama ticket, is targeting active and retired members of the UAW, of which more than half of the total of one million live in one of those four states.

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Former Union Organizers Expose “Psychological Battery”

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Big Labor has been spouting about the supposed coercive tactics that empoyers use during organizing campaigns to intimidate employees into voting in favor of the company.

We’ve put together a three-minute video of several former union organizers exposing the truth about the tactics used by unions during such campaigns. This “insiders view” highlights the dangers of the horribly mistitled Employe Free Choice Act, and indicates what the American workforce should prepare for should this legislation pass, and exposes who the real culprits are of coercive tactics.

Watch the video on YouTube at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1b2UtZ2S6Q&hl=en&fs=1

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If you missed this – here it is again!

An Interview with Don Wilson: The EFCA. This is a complete interview with the CEO of Labor Relations Institute on the Employee Free Choice Act and its impact on American businesses.

Pre-Election Special! There is still time to educate your employees about the dangerous impact of the Employee Free Choice Act prior to the November election. We are offering the About the EFCA module from our EFCA Tool Kit for only $895. You still have time to make a difference! Review
the details and preview the videos here.

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 OCTOBER SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboard.

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Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Ask for employees who are “subject matter experts” at something outside of work (fishing, hunting, crafts, cooking, etc.) to do a “brown bag lunch” presentation on the topic – ask for volunteers to cover topics. Remember how excited you got for show and tell when you were in school? It’s still pretty fun.

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Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Kenneth Campbell – IUOE: $270,000

Carol Bruno – CSEA: $16,000

Charles Bohanon – BLET: $18,074

Donna Roles – USW: $60,000

Kenneth Saltz, Jr. – USW: $15,809

Betty Wing – USW: $6,600

Michael LaPorte – USW: $20,000

Jeffrey Granberg – BAC: $2,500

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel
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Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger

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