Labor unions lead employee groups into the unionization process by introducing questions and suggestions such as these:
- Are you being unfairly targeted or treated with disrespect?
- Do you feel your pay is lower than others in your industry?
- You have the right to organize. You also have the right to wear and distribute union materials such as buttons and t-shirts.
- If you think you’re not the only one with these concerns, talk to a few of your co-workers who may be interested in organizing.
- Once you gather enough support, you can start assembling your committee.
- You cannot be fired or penalized in any way for joining a union or participating in any union-related activities.
- You’ll want your committee to consist of various departments, jobs, genders, and ethnicities so you can have fair representation. These committee members must then be educated on the issues at hand and proper union organizing policies and principles. For now, you’ll want to keep all discussions and meetings private, although you should know your rights.
- Discussing union matters at work, however, may be not be the best place to do it, as your employer can limit work hours to just that. And employers can confiscate union flyers and material from breakrooms and prevent organizers from outside the company from soliciting workers at the entrance to the terminal.
Once an organizing committee is formed, it will develop a list of demands or issues, known as an “issues program.” Committee members will then solicit employees to back their union.
Campaign. To become eligible for an election, at least 30% of employees must show support, although some committees delay announcing representation until 50% or more of employees sign. At that point, the campaign will likely be public, and employees can start handing out flyers, pamphlets, and other informative materials.
Election. After employees meet the minimum threshold required for organizing, they will submit a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The NLRB will conduct an investigation into the union’s legitimacy. Once the union is qualified, NLRB agents will facilitate an agreement between the employer and members of the union to determine the setting for a union officer election. This includes date, time, place, and ballot language. A union becomes certified if it wins a majority of votes cast.
Negotiation. By the time the union gets to this step, it has won its election and will start preparing to negotiate its issues. This is where the real work begins, as the bargaining process can be time intensive and requires a solid issues program. During negotiation, pressure to meet demands is placed on both sides, and compromises are sometimes made. If bargaining is successful, both sides will sign a union contract outlining the negotiated changes.
TIPS FOR HEADING OFF UNION ORGANIZATION
Employees have issues, and heading off union organization involves understanding those issues.
One good way to head off a union drive is to investigate how satisfied employees are with your workplace. You can send out a questionnaire and ask for anonymous responses to questions such as:
- How responsive is management to employee concerns?
- How happy are employees with their compensation level?
- Are there health and safety concerns that they want addressed?
Consider instituting a grievance procedure.
That’s a formal process that employees can use to make complaints. You should also include the grievance process in your employee manuals and handbooks. By providing for a grievance process, employees will feel like their voices are heard at work. Make sure that supervisors and managers have an “open door” policy, and make clear to everyone in the company that no retaliation will take place for lodging a complaint.
Create a grievance committee.
This committee is then tasked with investigating and resolving disputes. Create a flowchart of who the employee should contact, and state clearly the steps an employee must take. For example, you might require that the employee try to work out the dispute on their own before contacting their direct supervisor. If the direct supervisor does not resolve the dispute, the employee’s next step would be to contact the grievance committee.
Explain unpopular decisions.
Every business has ups and downs. If you need to make an unpopular business decision — such as cutting employee benefits, laying off employees, or no longer giving employees free coffee — you should be transparent as to your reasons.
Employees want to be treated fairly. They also understand that businesses sometimes have to make difficult decisions. The worst thing you could do is try to hide the reason why you made the unpopular decision.
Explain why the action was necessary for the business’s health and future. If you fail to explain the actions, then employees may speculate and think the worst of management.
Recognize employee contributions.
You can try to prevent disgruntled employees from forming a union by creating bonus/incentive plans. Bonus plans might include lump-sum bonuses for employees who hit certain targets.
You can also award other productive behavior, such as perfect attendance. Let the employee know why he or she is receiving the bonus. In this way, the employee feels like their efforts have been recognized. You also create an incentive for the employee to continue the good behavior.
Other Steps.
Some employers have avoided unionization by:
- Analyzing and addressing the company’s weaknesses.
- Reviewing and updating outmoded or unfair policies.
- Benchmarking wages and benefits.
- Training management on positive employee labor relations.
- Implementing a risk/response protocol.
- Preparing a first round of union avoidance materials.
To elaborate on some of these proactive steps:
- Communicate to employees not only why a union might be bad, but why the company is good.
- Unions often promise more money, so be ready with benchmarking data to explain how wages are paid fairly.
- Help employees see management’s desire to remain union-free and the reasons behind it.
BEWARE OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
While unions have a tremendous amount of freedom to solicit employees, make promises and “organize,” management is much more restricted. The acronym “TIPS” can help remind employers not to:
- Never threaten
to retaliate against employees by terminating them or reducing pay or benefits.
- Do not interrogate
employees about their activities or activities of co-workers.
- Do not promise
anything to employees, such as promotions or benefits, in exchange for not supporting the union.
- Never spy
on union activities. Employees have the right to meet with the union representatives and “hear them out” without management interference.
A POSITIVE APPROACH TO REMAINING UNION-FREE
Employers can and should talk to employees about why they think the workplace can do without the union. Emphasize the policies, practices and culture that are already in place and that make your company a great place to work. Let your employees hear your side of the story so that they can make an educated decision about how bringing a union into the workplace will affect them.
The bottom line is that if you communicate openly and honestly with employees, and your workplace is truly one that fosters good employee relations with fair and consistent policies and practices, your employees might find little value in union representation.
