Unions’ new approach to organizing
by Samantha Barlow Martinez

Unions’ approach to organizing workers inside the hospitality industry and elsewhere is changing. The old days of secret, grassroots campaigning, in which unions spent weeks or months quietly gathering workers’ signatures to request a union election, are over. Pending before the Senate, after successfully passing the House, is a law that would eliminate secret ballot union elections. Instead, a union would be certified once it obtains signed authorization cards from a majority of potential members, which until now has been the way to obtain an election, not outright certification.

There are two problems with this pending legislation. First, it deprives employers of the chance to inform employees of the downside of union membership. Before, once a union presented employers with signed cards, a “campaign period” began. During the campaign, employers could present their viewpoints regarding union membership. The new legislation gets rid of the campaign period. Second, the proposed legislation makes workers much more vulnerable to pressure from coworkers to sign union cards, whether out of friendship or fear, as opposed to an election, in which each employee’s vote is secret. Up until now, the National Labor Relations Board—the government agency which regulations union-management relations—has refused to invalidate signed cards obtained by lying or deceiving workers into signing them. Tellingly, unions do not support de-certifying a union by the same process. In the version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives, unions may still demand a secret ballot election if a majority of workers sign cards requesting that a union no longer represent them.

Going hand in hand with the pending “card check legislation,” as it is known, is unions’ increasing reliance on a new form of organizing, the “corporate campaign,” to win representation. Instead of organizing workers on a grassroots level, the corporate campaign attacks the targeted property on an organizational level through a variety of tactics. The union may use contacts with political or even religious leaders to pressure a company’s leadership into accepting a union. It may wage a media war, using press contacts, op-ed newspaper columns, and a sophisticated website to spread damaging and often slanted information about the target property. It may also work with plaintiffs’ lawyers to file lawsuits or lodge complaints alleging pay problems or unfair treatment.

John Wilhelm, President of the Hospitality Division of the main hotel union UNITE-HERE, has stated that the corporate campaign is the union’s preferred organization tool. The goal of the corporate campaign is exactly the same as that of the card check legislation: to force employers to voluntarily recognize a union via signature without the need for a lengthy and costly campaign and election.

New tactics for new approaches
What should employers do to defend against these new tactics? The following suggestions may help.

Contact your senator or the President about the card check legislation. Now is the time, even if you have never done so before, to get political and let your senator or the President (who has the power to veto) know the effect this legislation could have on your business. Let him or her know that you do not support the card check legislation. Alternatively, you may lend your voice to any of a number of hospitality and business organizations which are actively campaigning against card check legislation.

Understand corporate campaigns and develop a strategy in case attacked. A union targeting a hotel in a corporate campaign may attack on several fronts: political, legal, or public relations/media. For that reason, it is important to spend some time today planning your company’s response. Identify and if necessary seek advice from outside consultants who can help develop a strategy.

Train supervisors and managers in labor union law. Your supervisors and managers are truly on the “front lines” in any union organizing effort. And they are the ones who will most likely get you in trouble with the National Labor Relations Board, which hears disputes related to organizing. Supervisors need to know how their job may be affected, why unions may not be the best solution for employees, and what the proper response is to campaigning.

Review policies contained in handbooks and elsewhere. A strong, but lawful, policy concerning solicitation for certain causes and distribution of printed materials is vital to every workplace and very important in union campaigns. Policies regarding confidentiality, use of company email or equipment, uniforms, and the like also play a role. These policies need to be reviewed, and enforced consistently, long before a union darkens your door.

Treat your employees as best as you can. This tip is an oldie but goodie. The best way to limit a union’s sway over your workforce is to treat your employees with dignity and respect. Surprisingly, it is not wages and benefits which primarily motivate employees to vote for unions, although they are a factor, but the feeling that they are treated arbitrarily or unfairly by their supervisors and upper management. Listen to employees’ concerns, avoid playing favorites, involve them in decision making, and praise them for a job well done. This is still the best way to keep your workplace union-free.

Seek advice early and as often as needed. More often than not, managers call lawyers and other advisors after key decisions and actions have been taken. If the decision was unsound legally, this results in a much larger—and more expensive—problem to resolve. As with any difficulty in life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

 

 

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