Bust the Union Busters

The disdain for unionization is so strong that companies would rather spend more money on law or consulting firms in order to defeat organizing drives than it would on what their employees are asking for in their contract demands. And it all comes down to control.

During an organizing campaign, some 82% of employers hire high-priced union-busting consultants, according to American Rights at Work, and their strategies are generally similar. American Rights at Work, a workers’ advocacy group, describes union-busters this way:

“Union busters operate under the radar intentionally. They often provide material and instructions behind the scenes while the employer’s management and middle-management/supervisory staff carry out the actual communications with workers. In this way, the union buster does not deal directly with employees and, as a result, may avoid having to disclose financial reports about such activity to the U.S. Department of Labor. The union buster’s name or firm is not used or referenced in the anti-union materials distributed to employees, further masking the union buster’s involvement in orchestrating the anti-organizing campaign. More importantly, the anti-union company is rarely called on to divulge that it hired a union buster or revel the specifics of such expenditures. Without a paper trail, union busters are hard to detect, underreported and not in the public eye.”

The ability for consultants and employers to break the law without repercussions, and to use fear and coercion to discourage employees from voting for a union is a major reason why we desperately need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

The best way to fight the influence of union-busting firms in an organizing campaign is to understand how they operate, and prepare employees on what to expect, such as the lies and propaganda that will likely be spread about the union. Please use the resources below on the union busting industry to become educated and stop the bullying.

“Union busting” is a multi-million dollar industry that takes away your rights. Studies show that millions of workers would join a union today if given the chance. But despite their will, most of those workers will not get the chance to vote for a union, even fewer will be successful in forming a union, and fewer still will be successful in earning a first contract.

Because workers want to improve their workplace through organizing for better wages and benefits and safer working conditions, a shadow industry has been formed which calls itself “union avoidance.” We know it more accurately as “union busting,” and companies will pay tens of thousands and even millions of dollars to keep their workers from organizing to gain union representation.