Union Free: 10 Ways to Lose Your Election – Part 4: Sitting On the Bench

by | Apr 27, 2010 | Uncategorized

Union free elections are won or lost by how well the company communicates. The fourth biggest mistake companies make in union free elections is to sit on the bench. This means not telling employees that you want to keep a direct relationship with them. In our last article we talked about the TIPS rules. But there are other rules–called the FOE rules–that cover what you should say during a union free election. FOE stands for Facts, Opinion and Examples. You can always give facts about the company and the union. As we discussed in Part 3 and the bonus TIPS, you cannot promise benefits to employees during a union free campaign. However it is always lawful to discuss the facts about unions during the campaign. You can always “set the record straight” about the promises unions make. You can discuss the business environment and how the union’s promises are not realistic. This illustrates that you care about the company, its survival and the job security of employees. You can also discuss facts about the union. There is a lot of information about unions on the internet. Tell employees how to get facts for themselves. Follow the TIPS rules, but always give your opinion about unions and why you want a direct relationship. You can state that you believe a direct relationship is better than bargaining between a union and the company. You can explain why you prefer to operate without a union and how you believe a union may hurt the company. You can also provide examples of where employees did not get what the union promised. You can explain problems faced by other unionized companies in the area. Make sure that employees get a realistic picture of what a union can do, not just the “pie in the sky” promises from the organizer. Focus on the bargaining process. Employees must understand how bargaining works. Explain that a very small percentage of private sector employees belong to unions. Show examples of the many union companies who fail because they can’t compete. These facts–which unions don’t want employees to hear–are still perfectly legal to explain. Unions do not like it when the employer talks to employees about unions. This is why they support legislation like the Employe Free Choice Act that shrinks or eliminates the election process. Unions want to prevent employers from speaking to employees about unions. They regularly seek “neutrality” agreements for this reason. Even where they’re unable to get a neutrality agreement, unions will still try to limit employer speech. They file or threaten baseless unfair labor practice charges to scare supervisors from speaking out against the union. The employer should never allow these tactics to limit their communications to employees. As long as you’re following the TIPS rules you must communicate your position on unions. Sitting on the bench is the quickest way to lose your election. Even if you hire outside consultants or attorneys, in the end you and your managers are left behind. If employees do not feel like you want to improve the company they will still vote for a union, even if they think the union is a bad idea. The best way to prove that you “got the message” is through your behavior and the behavior of your managers. So you must get off the bench and be a player in the game if you hope to avoid a union at your location.

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