Open communication between employer, employees is crucial for maintaining a healthy working environment. In 2018, Google dropped its long-time slogan, "Don't be evil," from its code of conduct. Workers at Amazons distribution center in Bessemer, Alabama are voting in a historic union election whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). to attack global union federations by making their financial records publicly available. 101. Amazons Huge Expenditure on the Bessemer Anti-Union Campaign: Amazon is paying a small fortune for its anti-union consultants. Consultants . The biggest being that the quickie elections leave little to no time for strong, effective anti union campaigns. For over 35 years we have helped our clients with employee relations, union negotiations, union avoidance, labor relations training, HR due diligence for M&A, and much more. Edge Crushing Unions With Consultants, "Explainer Videos" and "Heat Maps". 1.John Logan, The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States, British Journal of Industrial Relations 44, no. In 2018, Littler employed over 1000 attorneys in the United . The EPI estimates that the "union avoidance" industry, through which companies hire outside firms to defeat organizing efforts, is now worth $340 million per year. 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. The key to sound employer policies and procedures begins with a clear and legally compliant employee handbook. They face highly motivated, well-resourced "union avoidance firms" that deploy any means possible to prevent workers from organizing. A proposed rule change would expose such anti-union expenses the last thing the union busters themselves want. Smith has an extensive background in conservative political circles: she has published an anti-union book, Union Hypocrisy, which is written in the nature of [right-wing] political authors Laura Ingraham and Michelle Malkin and she has been a Contributor to the ultra-conservative Brenner Brief podcast. When you start to notice the early warning signs of union organization, its too late. . Question. Employees in favor of unionizing there cited overtime pay cuts, fewer breaks and wage gaps as the main reasons for organizing with the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers . Brown and Smith campaigns worked on a failed attempt to decertify flight attendants at Allegiant Air in 2016, which was then the largest decertification attempt in the history of the Railway Labor Act. Gamekeepers Turned Poachers: Several prominent consultants have claimed to have worked working for unions, including some of Smiths close associates. January 18, 2023. Here are some of the most well-known companies in America and how much they've spent on union-busting firms. Since Littler was founded in San Francisco in 1942, union avoidance has been a major area of its expertise. Last month, we discovered that, starting in January, Amazon had hired two prominent anti-union consultants, Russell Brown and Melissa Smith of Florida-based Road Warrior Productions (RWP), to assist with its campaign against the RWDSU. Union avoidance firms, which exploded in the U.S. in the 1970s, have played a key role in reducing the proportion of private sector workforces that are unionized today. Through overseas offices or strategic alliances, Littler Mendelson, Ogletree Deakins, Jackson Lewis, and Fisher Phillips have expanded their reach to Latin America, Europe, and Asia. In 2018, Google dropped its long-time slogan, "Don't be evil" from its code of conduct. 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. Looking to kill organized labor in aviation: Brown and Smith have consistently attempted to expand their anti-union crusade into the still heavily unionized airline sector. Ogletree Deakins is the nations second largest management-side law firm specializing in union avoidance. Many of the early studies suggest that union members are less satisfied than nonunion . Framework agreements, the firm cautioned, are especially problematic for public-facing retail brands.14, Union avoidance attorneys have advised employers to deploy global standards offensively against labor organizations. (312) 836-0100. 260-424-8316, F 357, June 2010. Often the easiest way to solve a problem is to avoid it entirely, and avoiding a union is no different. Often, its your efforts that can protect them from unwittingly putting everything on the line. At the completion of the employee relations assessment process, Hutchison Group will carefully analyze the employee inputs derived from each session and provide the company with a comprehensive report regarding our findings, along with specific recommendations for employee relations improvements. 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 . Under international law, information from employers . In 2018, Littler employed over 1000 attorneys in the United States and over 1500 worldwide. Empower those in authority to deal with problems quickly and efficiently. Even with taking these steps, employees might still erroneously think a union is a viable solution to their issues. To underscore this finding, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center reported that the popularity of labor unions has grown in recent years, citing that their favorability hit 60% in January 2017, with only 35% percent of Americans viewing them unfavorably. At ANHS, our union avoidance management consultants have developed a program to build up every level of management, from your supervisors to your executives. 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. None of these global union federations comply with the requirements of the LMRDA [Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act].16 Thus, union avoidance law firms have opposed using the 1959 LMRDA to require financial reporting from union avoidance firms and employers that hire theman original intent of the lawbut support using it to regulate global union federations, over which U.S. law has no jurisdiction. This report was originally published in the New Labor Forum and was written byJohn Logan,Professor and Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. 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. Our team has also helped companies avoid hundreds of campaigns across the country, including UAW, Steelworkers, Teamsters, CWA, IBEW, UFCW, UNITE-HERE, IAM, AFTRA, SEIU, The Laborers, GMPP, Sheet Metal Workers, 1199, just to name a few. Employees see no way to address their issues beyond inviting outside help to disrupt your business. They have also engaged in the debate over global standards and predicted that U.S.-style counter-organizing campaigns may take hold overseas. Fewer problems arise when employees have faith and trust in their organizational superiors. Convince your employees to stay union-free. The federal PRO Act, which passed the House this month, would prohibit captive audience meetings. Amazons relentless anti-union campaign will likely play a central role in union messaging on the PRO Act now that they have gotten the countrys attention. One of the best ways to determine a companys vulnerability to union organizing is to conduct onsite employee relations assessments. The right mix. Your labor relations training was excellent, providing our supervisors with useful information and practical tools to help reduce the risk of potential union organizing at our nonunion operations 5.Jackson Lewis, Global Preventive Strategies for the Cross-Border Workplace, 2011, available at https://www.jacksonlewis.com/media/pnc/0/media.1230.pdf. Reassure the Board of Directors and Shareholders. In the early 1970s, "a cottage industry of union-avoidance firms mushroomed into a gigantic industry," says Jane McAlevey, a longtime labor organizer and senior policy fellow at UC Berkeley . The success of almost every company is largely determined by the performance and productivity of their employees. as confidential. 317-231-7433, F 4.Ogletree Deakins, Cross-Border Practice, available at https://ogletree.com/solutions/practice-areas/cross-border/. 7.Littler Mendelson, Labor Law Update, October 15, 2014, available at https://slideplayer.com/slide/6206656/. 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. Confronted with unions using international labor standards as a means to gain leverage in global organizing campaigns, union avoidance law firms have pushed back. Training and Strategy recognized by the ILO, that is, its right to campaign vigorously against the union.21. 9.The Federalist Society, Harold P. Coxson Bio, available at https://fedsoc.org/contributors/harold-coxson. 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, "Consultants, Lawyers, and the 'Union Free' Movement in . Even before it engaged the services of these two anti-union consultant firms, Amazon had hired Morgan Lewis, one of the nations largest law firms specializing in union avoidance activities. To augment its extensive internal union avoidance capabilities, Amazon used several leading outside anti-union consultant firms. Equip your managers with the skills they need. With twenty six of its eighty-one offices located overseas, Littler has been the union avoidance firm most aggressive in expanding internationally. 18.Stefan Jan Marculewicz, Elimination of the Secret Ballot Union Election and Compulsory Arbitration under the Employee Free Choice Act: A Violation of Fundamental Principles of International Labor Law, available at https://www.uscib.org/docs/090317_marculewicz_article.pdf. We can provide a strategic response to labor union organization efforts, ensuring your work place stays union free and your business or organization is protected. However, while arguing that neutrality agreements violate workers freedom of association because they do not get to hear both sides of the story, union avoidance firms have consistently opposed union access to the workplace in order to make the case in favor of unionization.18 Thus, labor neutrality and union access agreements, they have argued, are bad for both corporations and their workers and also violate international law. According to Motherboard, leaked polling spreadsheets from one of the most prominent union avoidance firm, IRI Consultants, show how anti-union consultants profile and essentially characterize . We are, at times, more than lawyers, we are advisers bringing new ideas to light. As with the Amazon campaign, Rebecca Smiths anti-union work on these campaigns was conducted through Russ Browns Road Warrior Productions. Look out for these emails and check out our website for more information on how to remain union-free! 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