Having worked with both union and nonunion companies over the past 30 years, our labor and employment consulting firm have learned to identify key warning signs and recommend proactive steps to remain union free. Sources. 2.Michael Fichter and Dimitris Stevis, Global Framework Agreements in a Union-Hostile Environment: The Case of the USA, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, November 2013, available at https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/10377.pdf. . February 26, 2023. 101. The federal PRO Act, which passed the House this month, would prohibit captive audience meetings. A major component of our union avoidance strategy is to train supervisors and alert them to the skills necessary to avoid unions, skills they can use each day in their interaction with employees. This includes our Leadership Effectiveness Analysis, which helps your managers identify and leverage their strengths. A closer examination of the background of Brown and Smith I have written about the activities of Labor information Services elsewhere shows their involvement in several high-profile anti-union campaigns, their lobbying efforts on behalf of anti-union legislation, and their sustained efforts to weaken unions and collective bargaining, especially in the transportation and aviation sectors. Money and decision-making power are the two primary reasons why companies want to avoid unionization. advice. He has published widely on employer opposition to unionization and on anti-union law and consultant firms. Prevent Costly and Disruptive Union Organizing Campaigns. In the 1970s and 1980s, 3M conducted thousands of anti-union campaigns with over 70 anti-union consultants, including Marty Levitt, who renounced his former profession in the late 1980s and published a tell-all memoir, Confessions of a Union Buster, in which he detailed a dirty business which was populated by bullies and built on deceit.. We have the experience, depth and understanding to deal with any situation at a moment's notice. . . Link to book room. Human Rights Watch has criticized captive meetings as a form of legal intimidation, which are unlawful in many developed democracies. Employees see no way to address their issues beyond inviting outside help to disrupt your business. 6.Fisher Phillips, International Employment Practice Group, available at https://www.fisherphillips.com/services-international-employment. 2021 Hutchison Group Inc.. All Rights Reserved. An Amazon-sponsored billboard urging employees to return their unionization ballots is seen on March 28, 2021, in Bessemer, Alabama. Our team at Adams, Nash, Haskell & Sheridan will work with management to help your organization achieve the best possible outcome. These employee relations assessments are almost always appreciated by the employees, and the insights derived from these conversations provide management with a valuable opportunity to address areas of concern in a proactive manner. Dont ignore the early warning signs of union organizing: huddles that disperse when a manager approaches, increased use of union terminology, new worker alliances, increased complaining, and more. Both Russ Brown and Rebecca Smith have worked for LRI directly, and continued to do so, even after establishing their own anti-union consultant firms. Having worked with both union and nonunion companies over the past 30 years, our labor and employment consulting firm . The NLRBs recently implemented quickie election rule has many repercussions for employers. Advised by its U.S. union avoidance lawyers, Nissan insisted that the U.S. NCP should not broker an agreement that would place the company in a position of . "That's very likely an underestimate of how big the industry really is," Poydock said. According to a filing with the Department of Labor, Amazon engaged the services of LIS starting January 3, 2021, for the purpose of "conducting meetings with employees in the voting bargaining unit to discuss the realities of signing authorization cards and voting in the upcoming . John Logan, "Consultants, Lawyers, and the 'Union Free' Movement in . Union avoidance law firms immediately publicized the CFAs decision. We will work to guide you in the best ways to educate your employees about the dangers and problems of unionization and address underlying issues in your workplace. In what they called a fresh perspectives from the ILO, Littler attorneys (who have represented Delta on labor issues) wrote that the Delta decision was of tremendous significance and the first definitive statement by the ILO to confirm that the right of employers to express their opinion about labor unions trying to organize their employees under U.S. law is consistent with international law. Jackson Lewis concluded that, with the Delta decision, the ILO had effectively endorsed employers use of third-party persuaders or management consultants to communicate directly with employees about managements opposition to unionization.20 International labor organizations protested their interpretation of the Delta decision, but union avoidance law firms have continued to cite it in policy briefs, newsletters, conference presentations, blog posts, and at every other opportunity. We estimate our team has helped manage hundreds of union organizing attempts and/or campaigns, and our clients have obtained favorable results in more than 96% of the campaigns in which we have been involved. And . 20.Stefan Marculewicz and Brent Wilton, Employer Freedom of Opinion and Expression Within the Context of Union OrganizingA Fresh Perspective from the ILO, Littler, November 10, 2010, available at littler.com/publication-press/publication/employer-freedom-opinion-and-expression-within-context-union. One of the best ways to determine a companys vulnerability to union organizing is to conduct onsite employee relations assessments. One commentator wrote about Brown on an online airline pilots forum: This guy is the reason American, Southwest, UPS and now ALPA are sending out letters letting us know they are watching this. We will get you through this - our professionals have worked with employers from coast-to-coast, across most industries and with most of the major unions. This case features well-known union-avoidance firm Jackson Lewis. Lawyers and consultants devise strategies for managers to maintain union-free workplaces. . The key to any union avoidance plan lies with front-line supervisors and their ability to deal with issues immediately and constructively. In 2018, Littler employed over 1000 attorneys in the United . For this to happen, much depends on the employees day-to-day relationship with their immediate supervisor. Hutchison Group is a nationally recognized HR and labor relations consulting firm. Pitt reduced payments to "union avoidance" law firm Ballard Spahr following faculty unionization, but continues to pay hundreds of thousands to firms with labor management services as efforts to organize staff and graduate student unions persist. Seaton is a well-known union-avoidance consultant, otherwise known as a "persuader" or, more accurately, a union buster. Failure to recognize early warning signs of union activity can result in having to engage in a costly and disruptive union campaign, which can create deep and long-lasting divisions within the workforce, not to mention the negative consequences should the union prevail (e.g., increased costs, restrictive work rules, work stoppages, etc.). to attack global union federations by making their financial records publicly available. In response, large union avoidance law firms have not only internationalized their operations, but also proposed using global standards offensively against labor organizations, and attempted to use ILO jurisprudence to argue that employers have a rightand even an obligationto oppose unionization. . Once again, communication is critical here, and your first line of defense is managers handling of employee concerns. Union avoidance is a method companies use to keep unions out of their establishments. Russ Brown also runs the North American Transportation Employee Relations Association (NATERA), an organization dedicated to weakening union influence in the transportation sector, on which Rebecca Smith serves as a board member. John Logan is Professor and Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. Often, its your efforts that can protect them from unwittingly putting everything on the line. Mission Hospital: A Relentless anti-union campaign during the pandemic: In addition to the Amazon campaign, Brown and Smith have worked on several other recent high-profile anti-union campaigns, including among nurses at Mission Hospital, owned since 2019 by the for-profit healthcare system HCA, in Asheville, North Carolina. As a result, employees are far less likely to seek out union representation, and the union is denied potential inroads or issues they might otherwise exploit in their attempt to organize the workforce. One major difference between union avoidance law firms such as Morgan Lewis and consultant firms such as Road Warrior Productions and Labor Information Services is that consultants conduct so-called direct persuader activity i.e., they have face-to-face contact with employees while the law firms generally avoid this. They face highly motivated, well-resourced "union avoidance firms" that deploy any means possible to prevent workers from organizing. Other important benefits derived from our employee relations consulting program include: Companies that listen to employees and train their supervisors to develop good working relationships can reduce interest in union membership and deter union organizing efforts. We understand what keeps you up at night and work collaboratively to find practical and creative solutions, at the heart of business. LRI works with consultants based around the country, many of whom run their own satellite firms, such as Browns Road Warrior Productions or Smiths Rock Creek. Captivating Workers: Captive meetings mandatory group anti-union meetings which employees can be fired for refusing to attend have been a central feature of Amazons anti-union campaign at Bessemer. It is estimated that companies spend between $500 million and $2 billion per year on union-busting activities. Monitoring the NLRB and Other Pro-Labor Legislation and Regulations. Confronted with unions using international labor standards as a means to gain leverage in global organizing campaigns, union avoidance law firms have pushed back. Your employees are, too. Our labor relations training for supervisors is conducted on site and is typically completed in just three hours. What should you do next- The Dangers Of Union Avoidance. NATERA seeks to expand knowledge on union expertise issues among its members. : Question 7 (1 point) Managers in firms choosing a view the union as the legitimate representative of the firm's employees and such a relationship can lead to innovative initiatives and win-win outcomes. While critical of the shred it! campaign, the CFA defended employers right of free expressionthe first time, according to Littler attorneys, that it had made such a statement.19. following terms. Gamekeepers Turned Poachers: Several prominent consultants have claimed to have worked working for unions, including some of Smiths close associates. 11.Jackson Lewis, Surveying the New Labor Law Landscape, 2011, available at https://www.acc.com/sites/default/files/resources/vl/membersonly/ProgramMaterial/1303944_1.pdf. Littler Mendelson is the world's largest management-side law firm focusing exclusively on labor and employment issues. The refusal was no surpriseemployers have turned down the NCP in every U.S. OECD complaintbut Nissan invoking the ILO was surprising. persons or entities involved in the matter and that the firm is willing to consider Other anti-union consultants claim years of experience working for organized labor, including for the Teamsters, steelworkers, laborers and AFL-CIO. This guy, Russ Brown, is looking to. accepting representation. According to forms filed with the Labor Department in connection with several anti-union campaigns over the past decade, Brown and Smith have worked under Philip Wilson, CEO of LRI. Share your views of unionization and communicate the repercussions of a union at the start of employment, so that there is no misunderstanding down the line. . With ANHS, we make sure you stay union-free. A leaked internal "polling" spreadsheet from one of the country's top union avoidance firms offers an inside look into a highly secretive industry that specializes in helping employers derail . Union Avoidance. Leaked files from IRI Consultants, a union avoidance firm, obtained by Vice's Motherboard show the disturbing lengths to which companies will go in order to derail workplace organizing. Labor relations consultants specializing in union avoidance activities have been operated in the United States since at least the 1940s. Soft Opening for EPAs Green Bank Funding to Reduce Emissions, Partner Tina Dorr Named President of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Rare Victory for California Employers: Ninth Circuit Says State Arbitration Law Preempted By Federal Law. The three prongs to union avoidance are corporate culture, positive employee relations, and employee training. 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