Union Organizing Campaign: Management Advisory Memo

UNION CAMPAIGN

TO: Senior manager
FROM: Jonathon Fitzgerald, union organiser
DATE: November 22, 2019
SUBJECT: advice to management regarding the ongoing union organizing campaign

A union campaign takes place when some of the employees are not satisfied with the rules and regulations of the company and decides to form a committee to stand against the policies. This is a drive that begins to form a union within the company. Workers have the authority to seek petition for "union organising" from "National Labour Relations Board (NLRB)" for petitioning.

The organiser of the union has the right to take steps for signing the event so that majority of the workers participate in the rally. The company is going through a campaign. It is advised to the management to cooperate through the process, as it is the right of the employees. The management has no right to interfere directly in the process. There are also different laws that have been made which prevent companies from discriminating.

Steps for union organising

The process of unionisation involves election campaigns and union organising. There is a "step by step" procedure adopted by the NLRB for authorising and conducting elections by employees.

Step 1: "building an organising committee"

Leaders in the committee are identified and an organising committee reflecting diversity and representing important departments are established. Training of the committee begins. Members are educated about the "anti union campaign" of the management. The committee must also know their right to form union. Basic information regarding the structure of workplace, information about employees, and information of the employer are gathered (Benassi & Dorigatti, 2015).

Step 2: adopting issues program

A program for developments is developed by the committee. The improvements that are demanded are set up. Different campaign activities are organised for highlighting the "issues program".

Step 3: "Signing up majority on union cards"

Co workers are asked to join the committee by signing cards of membership. "Card campaign" is important for holding a union election.

Step 4: "wining the union election"

The "signed cards" are used for petitioning the labour board for holding an election. The board decides the eligibility for voting and scheduling the election. "If the union wins, the employer must recognize and bargain with the union."

Step 5: negotiating a contract

The campaign does not break after winning. The primary goal is to form a "union contract" that has the demands starting from wages and disputes. The workers pressurises the employees to meet the demands.

Things employer is not permitted to do

• Employer cannot reprimand, assign fewer jobs or fire the status of worker because of the views of union. This is because it is the right of an employee to form a union.
• Cutting out the privileges of employees or making tougher rules of working or punishing the employees for participating in union activity (Flavin, 2018).
• Granting or promising employees pay increase or other new benefits in the process of a union drive, so that they can quit from making union.

An employer cannot do these activities as it is the right of an employee to organise an union activity or participate in the campaign. The "Taft Harley Act" and "National Labour Relations Act" does not allow any employer to discriminate the employees or stop them from joining any union.

Things employer can and should do

• Answer the questions of employees regarding the policies of the company and discussing the campaign issues. This should be done providing that they are not threatened with reprisals, promised benefits or interrogated about their views on election (Geary, 2016).
• The employer should point out stated provisions in "union constitution" and the bylaws which can be disadvantageous to the employees. Those can be "punishable union offences", "picketing requirements", expulsions, fines and other assessments done by the union, and the provisions and trials for suspension made by the union.
• Informing the employees that the company will bargain in good faith if there is a valid NLRB certification. The improvements done in benefits and wages will not be "negotiable" or not automatic as suggested by the union (Kornelakis & Voskeritsian, 2018).

These should be done by the employer to be safe after the negotiation is successful and the union committee wins.

Two illegal union actions that management can identify as "Unfair Labor Practices"

"Unfair labour practices" are the actions undertaken by employers or by unions that are against the rules of NLRA. The prohibitions and rights that are permitted by the NLRA which creates a proper balance between the employers and unions are the "unfair labour practices".

• Trying to convince an employer to discriminate an employee for encouraging or discouraging union membership. This can be to convince an employer in penalising an employee who has participated in antiunion activities.
• Picketing, striking or engaging in other collective work stoppage at health care institutions without giving proper notice to the institution and the "Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service" (Tapia, Lee & Filipovitch, 2017).

The management is requested to understand the rules and regulations that an ongoing union organising campaign has, so that it is easier to respond. The senior management must properly understand the rules and actions that can be or cannot be taken so that there are no problems in the negotiation period. The management must also understand the benefits and costs required for this campaign. The management must also bargain and negotiate during the settlement. The management must be reasonable and must bargain intelligently.

Reference list

Journals

Benassi, C., & Dorigatti, L. (2015). Straight to the Core–Explaining Union Responses to the Casualization of Work: The IG M etall Campaign for Agency Workers. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(3), 533-555, retrieved from: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/28907049.pdf, retrieved on: 11.11.2019

Flavin, P. (2018). Labor union strength and the equality of political representation. British Journal of Political Science, 48(4), 1075-1091, retrieved from: https://blogs.baylor.edu/patrick_j_flavin/files/2010/09/Flavin_Union_Strength_Political_Equality_BJPS-1szw1gk.pdf, retrieved on: 12.11.2019

Geary, J. (2016). Economic crisis, austerity and trade union responses: The Irish case in comparative perspective. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 22(2), 131-147, retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Geary2/publication/285576425_Economic_crisis_austerity_and_trade_union_responses_The_Irish_case_in_comparative_perspective_European_Journal_of_Industrial_Relations/links/569fc71408ae4af52546cad2/Economic-crisis-austerity-and-trade-union-responses-The-Irish-case-in-comparative-perspective-European-Journal-of-Industrial-Relations.pdf, retrieved on: 15.11.2019

Kornelakis, A., & Voskeritsian, H. (2018). Getting together or breaking apart? Trade union strategies, restructuring and contingent workers in Southern Europe. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 39(2), 357-375, retrieved from: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/28328/1/Kornelakis%26Voskeritsian_2016_EID_v.2.pdf, retrieved on: 14.11.2019

Tapia, M., Lee, T. L., & Filipovitch, M. (2017). Supra-union and intersectional organizing: An examination of two prominent cases in the low-wage US restaurant industry. Journal of Industrial Relations, 59(4), 487-509, retrieved from: https://hrlr.msu.edu/faculty/documents/tapia_cv.pdf, retrieved on: 13.11.2019