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Dont Let "Change to Win" Defeat
Your Company
The name chosen by the group of labor unions
that recently separated from the AFL-CIO reveals their plan and foreshadows
the challenges to come. The so-called “Change To Win”
coalition consists of several of the largest and most aggressive unions
including the Teamsters, SEIU, UFCW, UNITE HERE, the Laborers, the
Carpenters and the United Farm Workers. These unions currently represent
nearly a third of all union members in the country, and in 2004, they
filed nearly half of all NLRB election petitions. In addition, their
win rate in these elections is daunting. Led by the SEIU, which won
an amazing 75% of its elections in 2004, the unions in the Change
to Win coalition together won nearly 60% of their NLRB elections.
And the key reason for their departure from the AFL-CIO was a desire
to dedicate more money and effort to organizing.
What does this union schism mean for employers – many of whom
may have come to view labor unions as an afterthought? We predict
the following:
• An increase in union organizing in key sectors: The Coalition has stated it will dedicate to organizing the tens of
millions of dollars in dues that used to go to the AFL-CIO. In addition,
the unions in the Coalition have repeatedly expressed the need to
cooperate and occupy the field in targeted sectors. Thus, employers
in healthcare and facility maintenance services (SEIU), warehousing,
distribution and transportation (Teamsters), food processing, grocery
and retail (UFCW), hotels and restaurants (UNITE HERE), textiles and
clothing (UNITE HERE), construction (Carpenters and Laborers) and
food production (Farm Workers) can expect a significant increase in
coordinated organizing activity.
• A general increase in union organizing: For
years, the AFL-CIO has had no competition for new members. With the
Coalition as a “lean and mean” competitor that is not
restricted by the AFL-CIO’s anti-raiding provisions, the remaining
AFL-CIO unions will have to increase their own organizing efforts
to compete. The construction, health care, food processing and hospitality
industries are likely to experience this first. But unions that focus
on other areas also will see renewed efforts as the UAW, Steelworkers/PACE,
CWA, IBEW, AFSCME and other large and powerful AFL-CIO unions seek
to protect their bases in manufacturing, government, call centers,
services and construction.
• Corporate and grassroots organizing tactics: The unions in the Coalition developed some of the most successful
organizing strategies used by unions today. These and other creative
efforts will continue. Corporate campaigns designed to pressure employers
into neutrality or card check recognitions will increase. This may
include consumer boycotts, negative publicity campaigns, international
pressure from foreign unions/governments on employers owned by foreign
entities, internet and email blasts, lawsuits and governmental investigations
(e.g., OSHA, DOL and EEOC), and shareholder resolutions. Grassroots
efforts designed to create a “class warfare” mentality,
such as those pioneered by the SEIU and UNITE HERE, also are likely
to be used. By hiring dedicated and aggressive organizers and focusing
on an increasing immigrant population in certain sectors, minority
and womens’ issues, and the reported gap between the “working
class” and “wealthy,” the Coalition is likely to
seek the support of community groups, religious organizations, and
politicians to create a union movement modeled after the civil rights
movement of the 1960s.
• Coordinated and intensified bargaining: Employers
with unions, particularly those in economic sectors occupied by the
Coalition, are likely to see increased difficulties in collective
bargaining as Coalition members seek to “raise the floor”
for members. Coordinated bargaining positions similar to those taken
by UNITE HERE in hotels on the east and west coasts, the SEIU in hospitals
and nursing homes in California, Connecticut, Nevada and the Southeast
and the UFCW in grocery stores throughout the country will expand.
Due to the likely increase in union activity in the near future, we
are advising all of our clients and professional and industry associations
to take steps to prepare.
These steps include:
Dust off your employee relations programs: The
best method to avoid unionization is to maintain positive employee
relationships and good HR practices. Forgotten or seldom-used incentive
programs, open-door policies, grievance procedures, supervisor training
initiatives and wage/benefits benchmarking programs should be reviewed
and updated.
Conduct an employee relations audit: Employers
in key economic and geographic areas and those who are partially
unionized or have recently experienced union activity should evaluate
areas of concern and vulnerability. Better to catch problems now
than after being targeted for an organizing campaign.
Make sure management is prepared: Employers should
incorporate employee-relations and union avoidance training into
supervisory training programs. A good training program will raise
awareness of the causes of unionization, and will teach supervisors
about “warning signs” that an organizing drive has begun.
It will also teach them about legal steps that they can take to
resist an organizing effort.
Develop a formalized labor relations program: Employers
and industries – especially “high-risk” ones,
such as hospitals, nursing homes, and hotels, and the construction,
distribution, textile, and food processing industries -- should
develop formalized labor relations programs so that, if targeted,
a plan is in place to minimize response time.
“Change to Win” is just the beginning
of a dramatic change in the union structure that has been in place
since the 1970s. We expect to see more unions defect from the AFL-CIO,
and others will probably merge and combine efforts to solidify their
bases. In response, employers should take immediate efforts to evaluate
their organizations and to protect themselves and their employees
so that they do not become the “losers” in a confrontation
with Change to Win.
Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC has counseled employers, exclusively,
on labor and employment law matters since 1946. The firm represents
Fortune 500 corporations and small companies across the country. More
than 100 lawyers work with clients to provide cost-effective legal
services and sound preventive advice to enhance the employer-employee
relationship. Offices are located in Georgia, South Carolina, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, Missouri, and Texas.
For more information about the firm's labor and employment services,
visit www.constangy.com, or call toll free at 866-843-9555.
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