organizeworkers

[organizeworkers]

Building Power at Work

The 2024 US presidential election is over. No more TV ads, no more mailers, no more posts. We can move on.

Except democracy and politics aren’t things we engage in every four years. As the Los Angeles chapter of DSA reminded us, your boss, your landlord, your insurance company, and other members of the ruling class use their political power every day to keep your pay low, raise your rent, and deny you coverage. We must organize in between elections, too.

In fact, this is the whole reason we organize. We as socialists and organizers are fighting for a world where we can engage in democracy every day through organized workplaces. It doesn’t have to be a distant future, either; by building and wielding our unions, we can actively fight for improvements today at work and beyond.

Trump Re-elected

With Trump returning to the White House, we’re unlikely to see a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as friendly to labor as we’ve seen over the last four years. During his first term, Trump stacked the board with members who would side with bosses and ran their playbook. As the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) put it in their report comparing Trump and Biden, “…the Trump board had taken action on all 10 of the [US Chamber of Commerce’s] top priorities, all of which gave more power and rights to employers at the expense of workers.”

The succeeding Biden administration largely rolled back many of the excesses of Trump’s term, but we have every reason to believe we’ll see a return to an NLRB that backs bosses over workers. In fact, Trump may back an end to the NLRB altogether. Additionally, his campaign has repeatedly made clear that it would back further restrictions on abortion and immigration and further weaken environmental regulations, all of which would make daily life worse for workers.

What’s Next for Labor Organizing

While the terrain may shift under our feet, our objectives are still clear. The federal government may make more or less favorable conditions for our organizing, but the organizing continues. Meanwhile, countries and companies continue to delay or fight efforts to address climate change, putting workers on the frontlines. We have no choice but to stand together and fight.

Labor unions have a real opportunity to engage in new worker organizing, potentially bringing thousands, even millions, of workers into the movement. Workers stand to win big gains for themselves and the working class as a whole by building power on the job.

That power doesn’t live just within our workplaces, either; an organized working class with more control over the levers of society means we can fight for and win a more just society regardless of which capitalist party holds which seats. As Eugene Debs said, “What can Labor do for itself? The answer is not difficult. Labor can organize, it can unify; it can consolidate its forces. This done, it can demand and command.”

As workers, we can build our power by having those first conversations with their co-workers about a better future. It can be difficult, it can be painful, and it can take all of your energy, but the end reward goes beyond basic benefits — you can have a voice at work and solidarity with your co-workers. We can build this power without a friendly NLRB or a friendly president, but they certainly help make the terrain smoother. In the meantime, there’s no better time to start building that power than now. Talk with a workplace organizer or join up with EWOC if you’re ready to help build that power for yourself or other workers.

[organizeworkers]

Get in the union, Shinji

[organizeworkers]

Workplace Organizing Tips for Introverts

Building a union at work means making connections with your co-workers, building trust, and creating democratic structures at work. This might sound daunting for those of us who are more introverted, who are quieter and reluctant to speak up or speak out, or who tend to focus on the details rather than the big picture.

A lot of organizing materials focus on the natural leaders, the one-on-ones, and confronting your boss. It’s true that you make the most impact in your organizing campaign by talking with your co-workers, so how can introverts organize?

Behind-the-Scenes Work

Introverts can help in many ways. An easy place to get started is with administrative work, like writing, designing, and planning. It takes a lot of effort to keep track of where your co-workers stand and what the campaign is communicating to them. This means someone will need to make the spreadsheets, fliers, and other documents. Work like this is often invisible or lower profile, but it’s critical to the success of any organizing campaign.

Keeping your support to smaller things, like attending general meetings, posting fliers, making graphics, and helping people pick up supplies, are helpful in addition to freeing up organizers to do other things.

You can also take advantage of how your co-workers perceive you. By publicly agreeing with more outgoing organizers, you can help other people see the campaign as applying to every kind of worker.

If your fellow organizers say it’s appropriate, you can be public about your support for your union. Put up some stickers or buttons on your desk or put a pile of buttons and flyers by the coffee machine for people to take. If there’s a general meeting or action coming up, offer a carpool to it. Tell people you signed your union card. There’s strength and safety in numbers, and these conversations are a great step toward having one-on-one conversations.

Taking Small Steps

Many people get nervous about having organizing conversations — but the good news is that you can ease into them! You can start building a rapport with your colleagues by being a person they can talk to, whether it’s complaining about the boss or talking about weekend plans. By lending an ear, you can start to build the trust that is so vital to a union campaign.

This might seem daunting if you don’t talk with many people or don’t know anyone very well. Start small, talking with just one person, once a week, maybe someone you already know. You will learn so much about the goodwill, bravery, and dreams inside all of us, including yourself, that only really come out when you organize your co-workers around an issue.

Talking with just one co-worker means you can be the reliable, go-to organizer for that one person. An even more introverted person than yourself, who maybe struggles to socialize in-person, can really connect with a fellow introvert, especially if other organizers have trouble reaching them.

Having Deeper Conversations

With enough conversations, you’ll find your style of conversation and understand what to ask. An underrated organizing skill is listening and asking questions, which is a skill introverts tend to excel at. A good organizing conversation means you only have to speak about 20 percent of the time.

It might seem counterintuitive, but saying relatively little in response means you can actually get through to people. These conversations are an opportunity to better understand and listen to a person and why they support a union or not. Even if you don’t win over a co-worker in that one conversation, you can still try to understand why they’re reluctant or not supportive, which is also really important information.

Ultimately, an organizing conversation isn’t about winning a debate or talking the most. It’s about learning what makes the other person tick, listening to what they’re saying, and responding to what you hear. This is an opportunity to share why you believe a union will make things better or to clear up any misinformation they’ve heard.

The best way to help your union is to be the point person for your co-workers, even if it’s just for one or two of your co-workers because organizers can count on you to reliably turn out those one or two people to an action. With enough conversations, if you can become the point person for 10 people, you’re functionally a full organizer!

Being Yourself

It might even be helpful to map out and rehearse conversations ahead of time. What will you ask? How will you ask it? What will you do if they respond this way or that?

In any organizing situation, just be natural. Outwardly pre-empting your ask, like, “Uh, so, like, it’s totally okay if you don’t, but like, if you could, that’d be great. You can sign a union card if you want, I know it’s a lot, but, it’d be great if you did,” the other person won’t feel the importance of the request and will be less likely to engage.

On the other hand, if you’re asking or just talking about the union, and if you’re relaxed about it, the other person will be too. For example:

“Hey, have you heard of the union drive? No? We want a legally recognized union so that we can bargain with the boss about [your co-workers’ issues]. I have a flier here. Do you want one? Cool, which demand are you most excited about? Awesome, me too! We’re trying to get a majority of workers to sign union cards to show the boss that a lot of us want this. Will you sign a union card?” 

Now it’s chill and fun, and you have a template with questions for the next person to answer.

If someone tells you no, you can just say, “No problem, would you be OK with telling me why?” and ask some questions. Most people will be happy you even asked, and those responses are useful for future conversations.

You’ll rarely ever encounter a rude co-worker who yells at you just because you asked them to sign a union card. What do you do in that case? Kill ’em with kindness! Just smile and gently say, “No problem. Have a good day!” and walk away. They can make a fool of themselves; you’re trying to help them get a raise.

Any organizing effort takes many hands, and everyone will play to their strengths, but it’s also an opportunity to build new ones. There are many tasks you can contribute to the union effort that don’t involve a ton of interaction, but the life-changing experience isn’t getting or even having the union — it’s talking to your co-workers. The best thing you can do is be brave with the same courage as your co-workers to stand up to the boss and try to make a new friend in the workplace! That’s where the beauty is.

[organizeworkers]

Thought I would share this here. Image is a clickable link that will take you to the account that posted it! ID in alt text. If anyone wants to pop it out, feel free.

[organizeworkers]

This Thursday, October 10!

Want to help build power through the labor movement? Interested in learning more about worker-to-worker organizing?

Come hear from NYC-DSA members as they share their experience as workers organizing workers, including members who successfully organized new unions, and activists who have built worker power in existing unions. Union activists will talk about their successes organizing in their workplaces, building power for the working class, and how that connects to our project of ending exploitation and oppression across the globe.

And most importantly, find out ways that YOU can become involved in this essential project! We will follow up with any attendees who are interested in getting strategic rank-and-file jobs to organize, and connect you to further training and support.

Register here!

[organizeworkers]

Fighting for Justice in a Changing Climate

Webinar: Thursday, Oct. 3rd at 8:30 ET / 5:30 PT!

Join us for a discussion with a group of immigrant workers who are organizing around the impacts of a changing climate on outdoor workers. 

As we continue to fight for climate and workplace justice, how do we center those most affected?

Outdoor workers, who are disproportionately also immigrant workers, are often most directly impacted by the various effects of climate change, whether extreme temperatures and weather or worsening air quality from wildfires and pollution. Systemic barriers keep these workers from accessing social services and allow bosses to hyperexploit them. Retaliation from the boss may directly target workers’ immigration statuses, not just their employment status. How are they organizing and fighting back in the face of these challenges?

Don’t miss out. Register TODAY!

[organizeworkers]

What is a March on the Boss, and How Do We Do It?

By Iraj Eshghi

A “march on the boss” is a direct action tactic in which workers collectively and publicly confront their boss to make one or more demands. Whether you are using it in the context of a direct action plan aimed at winning a specific demand or set of demands or to apply pressure in the lead up to an election or during contract negotiations, knowing how to effectively deploy a march on the boss should be in every organizer’s toolkit. 

Any sort of disruptive action in the workplace, like a march on the boss, carries the risk of discipline and retaliation. Its primary goal of the march should be to advance the workers’ plan to win on the issues they care about the most. A march on the boss is usually one step in a sequence of escalation tactics, preceded by other smaller tactics and followed by others, increasing the pressure each time. 

When should we march on the boss?

Using the march on the boss tactic is best right after an important galvanizing event: a boss fires or disciplines a co-worker, or negotiations reach a deadlock, for example. At times like these, it’s particularly useful to increase pressure in a public show of force. 

Marching on the boss simultaneously shows off the depth and commitment of your union’s organization, while also serving to test your organizing capacity. Union organizing involves a lot of uncertainty on both the side of the boss and the workers. It also shows that you can plan a march and rally your co-workers in solidarity, which can help get the boss to budge on the target you’ve chosen ahead of time. 

Properly timing the march in the context of the overall campaign is important too. The campaign will be a lot more effective during later stages of organizing once most of the employees connect and commit to the organizing effort.

What does the march actually look like?

A march on the boss depends on a lot of factors, but your primary consideration should be the number of workers in question. Remember, this is an intimidation tactic, so the collective of employees must be imposing enough to have an effect on the boss and cause them to rethink their position. You must remain aware of the power balance at play and ideally think through it yourselves: 

How many people do you need to mobilize for the demand in question? 

Does some specific department of our workplace have a stronger PR effect than the others? 

Consider, for example, maternity ward workers in a hospital organizing a march on the boss: Materially, they might represent a smaller fraction of the hospital’s profits than the surgery department, but they hold a lot of sway in the public eye and are typically paid worse and thus easier to organize.

How do we win?

There are several ways you can maximize your chances of success, but the necessary components are commitment, inoculation, and a constructive debrief.

Securing commitments

You must secure commitments from your co-workers through one-on-one conversations. Talk with them, ask what motivates them, and tie it into the campaign. If they feel that joining in on the march can meet their demands, you’ll have the numbers that matter. Once they commit, ask them to join you in planning the action and talking with more co-workers. The more involved they are, the more they will feel empowered by the action’s success, and they will be more likely to work with you on future escalations in the union campaign.

Inoculation

You must also prepare your co-workers for all possible outcomes. The workers involved must be aware of the potential retaliation and narrative that will come from the boss and choose to remain committed despite it. Before the action itself, you and your co-workers should role-play through the events and make sure everyone involved knows their tasks and where things may go wrong. 

Constructive debrief

Once the march is over, it will be crucial to take a step back. Review the following: 

Did you win what you wanted going into the action?

What worked? What didn’t? 

By going through this together, did you learn anything about the employer and their strengths or weaknesses?

This last question can help inform further action down the line.

You’ll also want to make sure everyone knows what the next steps are and how you’re preparing to respond to whatever the boss comes back with. Remember, this is a mere step in a larger campaign, so everyone involved must be ready to continue cranking up the pressure as the campaign moves forward.

[organizeworkers]

This Labor Day, we’re kicking off our Sustaining Donor Drive. Our goal is 150 NEW sustaining donors.

EWOC’s helped 200+ campaigns since 2020, and your support helps workers fight for something better and to maintain our independence.

Donate now:

[organizeworkers]

Despite low union density in this country, unions are one of its most popular institutions. Now is the perfect time to start organizing.

Get started 👉

[organizeworkers]

Labor Day: Our sustaining donor drive begins!

Organize your co-workers, friends, and family to make a monthly donation to EWOC.

Get 5️⃣ people to make a monthly recurring donation of $5️⃣ or more to get this FREE t-shirt!

Check it out, and sign up now!

[organizeworkers]

How can I talk to my co-workers about unionizing without losing my job?

By Shannon Sheu

Recent wins from Starbucks Workers United, the United Auto Workers, and in independent shops like Barboncino have inspired workers not in unions to consider unionizing. But what should you consider when you take those first steps of talking with your co-workers?

The boss can already fire you whenever they want

Organizing at work is a risk in pretty much any workplace. If you choose to organize with your co-workers, you do open up the risk of being fired for organizing.

However, without a union or even a group of militant, organized workers, the boss can fire you or lay you off whenever they want anyway! The status quo is not any safer — it’s just what we’re used to.

With a legally recognized union, though, you can include “just cause” standards for discipline in the contract with your employer. These standards can prevent your employer from disciplining your co-workers without good reason, among other things.

Remember: collectively, you all make the workplace run

The key point is this: It’s usually easy to fire one or two people, but it’s incredibly difficult to fire everyone all at once. Don’t plan or act on your own, plan and act as a group. Nonetheless, think deeply and assess together how easy each of you actually are to fire. 

Not all workers are as easy to fire for organizing. Workers in certain professions, like software engineering, may be harder to replace than, for example, retail workers. That’s something else to consider in your strategy: How often is your company hiring new people? How high is turnover? How easy are you to replace? Have you noticed your management tends to be reluctant to let people go, or do they have a proven track record of firing people or laying people off for whatever they feel like? Are there part-timers in your unit who would be easier to replace than the full-timers? 

Answers to these questions don’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t organize or that you won’t get fired for trying, but they’re important to consider from a strategy standpoint as you and your co-workers decide what action to take.

People do get fired anyway

In the US, we have the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), section 8, which prohibits unfair labor practices (ULP), like firing people for union organizing. According to this, it’s illegal for a manager to fire you for organizing your co-workers for better conditions. However, even when the law protects you, sometimes the boss doesn’t know what a ULP is, or, sometimes worse, they don’t care!

You can be fired just for organizing, and management may make up whatever excuses they want to cover their asses. Management at Starbucks fired workers and closed stores as part of its intense anti-union campaign, and some were eventually reinstated. Bosses have shut down entire manufacturing plants in response to otherwise successful organizing campaigns.

Be real about the risks with your co-workers

It’s important to be prepared for that when you decide to start organizing. It’s not enough to answer this question for yourself, though. You and your co-workers will have to answer this question together. You will have to motivate each other to keep organizing, sign that petition, or conduct a public action in spite of the risks of retaliation from management or the threats that management throws at you. Among union organizers, we call this “inoculation.”

Don’t downplay the risks with your co-workers; be real with each other. Sit with the difficult emotions and the fear together. Listen to each others’ worries and work through them together. Help each other plan finances or offer to help each other file unemployment and find new jobs after if someone gets fired. Take it as an opportunity to build solidarity and trust with each other.

Organizing a winning campaign will take a lot of time

Organizing, especially leading a campaign, is difficult and anyone who says it is easy is lying to you. The hours you put in will balloon as much as you let them, and things may be slow for a while, but during critical points of a campaign, it will be a lot of work and take a lot of hours. 

You may lose. You and some of your co-workers may get fired. There are things you can try to do to get your jobs back if that happens, such as taking public actions, filing ULPs, etc. People do get their jobs back, but it sucks. It could take months. It’s a lot of work, and it depends a lot on how well you are organized as a group.

The good news is you could also win. You could change people’s lives. Some of your co-workers could become lifelong friends. You all could accomplish what many of you could have never imagined.

And no matter the outcome, you take these lessons you’ve learned about how to fight back against unjust conditions at work into every job you’ll have in the future.

There are no guarantees, but it can still be worth trying, even if you lose

You’re not supposed to promise anything in organizing (seriously, don’t), but I will take a risk and promise you this.

If you

Decide you’re OK with the risks because you believe in a fair workplace more than you feel afraid of losing your job

Really believe that deep down in your soul

Do the best you can to organize your co-workers around widely, deeply felt issues

Create a rank-and-file, worker-led campaign

Then no matter if you win or lose, it will change your life. You will see people and the world around you very differently and you will realize that the power to make change is, as Shawn Fain put very well: not in me, not in you, but us, all of us together. And you will learn what that means in your heart.

Is the hope in your heart greater than the fear?

Every campaign that gets far enough is fundamentally the same, emotionally: It is the fight of the workers’ hope versus the fear the boss tries to instill in them. Anti-union strategies revolve around instilling fear into the workers by firing them, scaring them out of talking to each other, scaring them into huddling into the status quo. It is the workers’ hope for a better future that gives them the bravery to fight on even though the fear is still there.

If you feel moved to do so, I encourage you to reach out to us to get connected with an organizer. Helping folks learn how to start organizing their co-workers is exactly what we do best.

[organizeworkers]

Anatomy of a Union-Busting Campaign

By Amary Wiggin

Photo: Amazon Workers at NLRB by Joe Piette • CC BY-SA 2.0

“Union busting is disgusting,” goes the old refrain. Unfortunately, it’s also commonplace, and anyone who’s organizing their workplace should expect to face some level of resistance from management. Here at EWOC, we’re offering a primer on the basic anatomy of a union-busting campaign. When organizing workers know what to expect — and how to prepare — they can stand firm, foster solidarity and hope with their co-workers, and emerge victorious. 

What is union busting?

Union busting is a collection of tactics that management deploys to undermine workers’ efforts to unionize. These tactics take many forms, which we’ve organized into a few major categories below. One thing they all share is plausible deniability. The boss will never say, “We’re doing this to destroy the union.” Instead, they’ll have a false pretext for doing and saying things that create division, scare people, and penalize pro-union workers. Part of what makes union busting so nasty is that it’s insidious. Management will frame it as looking out for their workers’ best interests, even though it’s precisely the opposite.

Is union busting illegal?

Some union-busting tactics are illegal while others aren’t (and what’s illegal has changed a lot over time), but all of them are deeply unethical and creepy as hell. The Wagner Act protects private-sector workers’ right to unionize. It explicitly states that it’s against the law to threaten, fire, or discriminate against workers for unionizing, and, on the flip side, it’s illegal to reward workers for opposing unions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop a lot of companies from doing it.

What are some examples of union busting?

Union busting is commonplace, but the silver lining here is that it’s also predictable. Employers are pulling from an old-school union-busting playbook that hasn’t changed much in the past century. Typically, as soon as management smells unions in the air, they’ll enlist a “union avoidance consultant,” a.k.a. a paid union buster, to advise them on how to fight the union drive. The union buster will give them a bunch of canned talking points, which means that workers can prepare for what’s coming. 

EWOC’s video, “Inoculation and the Boss Campaign,” is a great way to get familiar with the union buster’s playbook. Led by seasoned organizers Terry Davis and Diego Ramirez, it explains the most common union-busting tactics, and, crucially, how to prepare. This process is called “inoculation.” Much like a vaccine, by exposing your co-workers to little doses of union-busting rhetoric in advance, you can help protect them from feeling misled, frightened, or discouraged once the union drive is underway. “Inoculation is your strongest tool against union busting,” says Ramirez. Think of it as putting on armor before wading into battle.

Union busting is often a mix of employers playing naughty and nice, good cop and bad cop. They’ll use a variety of tactics, which can escalate in severity as the union drive progresses and the election nears. So, let’s take a closer look at the ugly mug of the typical union-busting campaign. Here are some of the most common tactics to look out for, and how to prepare.

Union-Busting Tactic #1: Captive Audience Meetings

What it looks like:

Management holds meetings in which they expose workers to anti-union talking points. Management can also prohibit pro-union employees from attending and present counter arguments, and they’ll accuse those who speak up of being “disruptive” or “negative.” The goal of these meetings is to turn people against unions, usually by scaring them or implying that unions are evil, but management won’t say that, of course. Instead, they’ll claim to be providing “all of the facts” so that workers can make “an informed decision.” These meetings used to be illegal, precisely because they are so effective at frightening employees and unfairly swaying the results of a union election. 

What you might hear:

“A union is a third party.”

“We’re not against unions, but we don’t need one.”

“They’ll make you go on strike.”

“You’ll get dues deducted from your paycheck.”

“There’s no guarantee you’ll make more money.”

“We might have to close.”

Real-world example:

In a meeting for employees of a Google Fiber contractor, a paid union buster made the misleading claim that having a union means involving a third party. Workers immediately fired back, “We are the union.” Realizing that his “third party” talking point was going nowhere, the union buster pivoted to making thinly veiled threats that the company might have to close. Again, the workers called him out and made their support for the union clear. This story has a happy ending: these workers successfully unionized under the Alphabet Workers Union in 2022. 

How to prepare:

Don’t let management control the narrative, says Davis. Make sure that in every meeting, you have strong union supporters who are prepared to say something so that it’s not just the boss and the union busters talking. Remind people that the union is you, not an outsider. You might be surprised by how quickly you can derail their arguments just by being honest. “The boss really doesn’t know much about the union,” says Davis. “They’ve just gotten the talking points.” If you challenge them, they might struggle to formulate a response, revealing the hollowness of their claims.

One way to prepare for these meetings is by creating your own version of union-busting bingo. Get familiar with these messages in advance and how to respond. You can even have workers attend the meeting with their bingo cards in hand. It’s a great way to demonstrate just how calculated these talking points are. You’ll be amazed at how many people emerge from the meeting with full bingo cards. 

Union-Busting Tactic 2: One-on-Ones

What it looks like:

Management pulls people aside to speak to them one-on-one. Unlike the captive audience meeting, this gives the boss a chance to isolate individuals so they lose the backing of the group and feel less confident. Management often targets undecided workers in order to sway them against unions. They might engage in sweet talk, spread false rumors, or flat-out lie. Without witnesses, what’s to stop them? If they’re feeling bold and willing to break the law, they might dangle rewards for opposing the union (e.g., promotions and wage increases) or invoke scary consequences of unionization (e.g., strikes, job loss, and forced closing). Of course, it’s illegal to dispense rewards and punishments based on a worker’s position on unions, but it happens. 

The goal of singling people out is simple: break apart the group and drain its collective power. “They’re trying to chip away at your majority, worker-by-worker,” says Davis. Sometimes just telling someone that they’re being watched is enough to scare them away from the organizing drive.  

What you might hear:

Sweet talk

“I’m here for you.”

“We’re a family.”

“We’ve always gotten along. Don’t let a union come between us.”

“We would give you benefits if we could, but we can’t afford it.”

“We appreciate all the work you do.”

Scary stuff

“If you get union benefits, we’re going to have to take away other things.”

“There’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to hold onto the benefits you have.”

“You won’t be able to [transfer/call out of work/do a thing you care about].”

“We know it’s you who’s getting people worked up.”

“You’re getting written up and could lose your job.”

Real-world example:

Amazon has done all kinds of deplorable things to fight unionization, including one-on-ones. As one example, 11 Amazon workers reported to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that their managers pulled them aside individually and told them they were writing them up for tabling to encourage union sign-ups. “I’m kind of scared I could lose my job,” said Jordan Quinn, one of the organizers who was reprimanded, in an interview with ABC News. “That’s the whole thing about intimidation. They want to scare us so we back down.”

How to prepare:

Have responses ready, says Ramirez. If you see a management pull a co-worker into a one-on-one — for example, if a supervisor is hanging around their workstation and talking a lot — follow up with them afterward. Talk to them and bring them back to reality. Management often gives people misinformation, so this is a chance to dispel it and explain why it’s not true. Honesty is the best policy: show your co-workers that the union movement is about telling the truth, and management’s lies will be their undoing.

Through inoculation, you can prepare workers for these one-on-ones in advance. When you debrief with them afterwards, says Davis, you can remind them: “This is what we’re talking about. It’ll all be over shortly, but you have to be strong.”

The second thing you should do is document everything. For each shady thing management does, you can file an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the NLRB. The National Labor Relations Act allows employees to secretly record their conversations with managers when they relate to organizing activities, and these recordings can be used as proof of managers’ overreach. If the offense is severe enough, the NLRB might be willing to immediately issue a bargaining order, which requires the company to bargain with the union even without a union election. This is thanks to new legislation that emerged from the Cemex Decision.

Union-Busting Tactic 3: Weaponizing Feelings and Relationships

What it looks like:

We all make friends at work, and sometimes we’re friendly with our managers, too. During a union-busting campaign, management can cynically weaponize these bonds to undermine the union drive. They might play nice and buy everyone gifts or throw a pizza party (“See? We’re all friends here!”). If you’re part of the organizing drive, they might suggest that you’re doing grave harm to your relationships by being “divisive” or “confrontational.” Management might accuse you of ruining the supposedly happy-go-lucky workplace culture, simply because you want to help make it better.

Additionally, if your line of work benefits society, such as teaching or social work, management might use your passion for the job as a reason why you shouldn’t expect more. They might invoke the need to “make sacrifices” or the fact that “no one gets into this line of work to get rich.” Of course, you can’t pay your bills with purpose and passion, but management will carry on as if you should.

What you might hear:

“I’m hurt that you’re doing this.” [Boss starts crying.]

“We all have to work together when this is over.”

“I thought we had a good thing going here.”

“If you unionize, [your favorite co-worker] won’t get a promotion/raise. Think about your friends.”

“We all have to make sacrifices for the good of the people we serve.”

“No one gets into this business to become a millionaire.”

Real-world example:

In 2021, during the run-up to a union election, billionaire Starbucks founder Howard Schultz stood before his workers and recounted a sob story about growing up poor. He described a scenario in which Holocaust prisoners elected to share their blankets, which he said he “threaded into” the essence of Starbucks. Meanwhile, under his leadership, Starbucks was union-busting the hell out of its stores while paying its workers just $14 per hour on average, less than the living wage. Through his tearjerker of a speech, Schultz hoped that telling workers to share their metaphorical blankets would dissuade them from unionizing, but he miscalculated. People thought it was ridiculous, and it’s bound to go down in history as one of the most bizarre union-busting speeches of all time.

How to prepare:

It’s important to remind yourself — and your co-workers — that wanting a union doesn’t make you a big ol’ meanie pants or a selfish blanket-hogger. Nor does it mean you lack passion for your job. Quite the opposite — forming a union is a sign that you’re invested in your work and you care deeply about your co-workers. That’s the whole reason you’re pushing for improvements!

When management invokes feelings, touching anecdotes, and lofty ideals, remind your co-workers that this isn’t about them or their feelings. It’s about the issues. Bring it back to the problems that everyone agrees need to be solved, like better pay, more control over scheduling, a fair system for handling sexual harassment, a grievance procedure for when employees are disciplined, or a contract that enshrines these policies and holds management accountable. Keep it about the issues, and management’s touchy-feely techniques will lose much of their power.

Union-Busting Tactic 4: Concessions and Favors

What it looks like:

Management starts making small, easy concessions to placate workers without changing the underlying power dynamic. For example, the boss performs a token gesture, like bringing employees ice water on a hot day instead of installing A/C or handing out gift cards instead of increasing wages. These concessions might also include increased time off, better scheduling, or solving the most urgent problem in the workplace that has employees agitated, such as a safety issue.

Another example is the formation of a quality assurance group, committee, or task force. “We’re listening,” is the message here. On its surface, this seems like a step forward, but it’s often just a stalling tactic. A task force is “where solutions go to die,” says Tristan Bock-Hughes, a veteran organizer and EWOC volunteer. 

What you might hear:

“Our door is open.”

“We’re listening.”

“Let’s continue the conversation.”

“We’re doing our best.”

“Here’s a little gift to show you I care.” 

“We installed a new coffee maker.”

“Surprise! Drinks are on us!”

Real-world example:

Colleen Quilty, an organizer with UNITE HERE, tells a darkly hilarious story about organizing her workplace and seeing management give her co-workers a concession. This concession came in the form of — wait for it — a box of crayons. “It was like, ‘I don’t have a lot of money, but it’s the holiday season, so … we thought we could give you crayons.’ That happened all the time.” 

How to prepare:

Don’t let a box of crayons, a surprise happy hour, or a meaningless task force derail your attempts to exert collective power to solve genuine, longstanding problems in your workplace. Help your co-workers see through these empty gestures. The boss can build you up and make you feel warm and fuzzy, but at the end of the day, they’re still exploiting you. You don’t need a pat on the head; you need a say in how the workplace runs. And if crayons are actually important to you, you can always write them into your union contract.

Union-Busting Tactic 5: Down and Dirty Attacks

What it looks like:

These direct attacks are perhaps the scariest of all union-busting tactics, which makes it even more important for your co-workers to prepare. These attacks involve isolating, disciplining, or firing union activists, always with a bullshit pretext. In many cases, management starts enforcing rules that they ignored before, cracking down on small infractions. Suddenly they strictly enforce the dress code or reprimand employees for being just a few minutes late. Workers who are openly pro-union bear the brunt of this crackdown. They feel surveilled and harassed, worried that management could fire them for the slightest mistake. In some cases, management makes up new rules or recasts behavior that it previously encouraged as misbehavior deserving of punishment.

In some extreme cases, the company might choose to close down stores with union activity, thereby dispersing union supporters. All of the activities described in this section are illegal. But because the fines for such behavior are minimal at best, some businesses feel emboldened to break the law.

What you might hear:

“We’re firing [union supporter] because they’re a bad worker.”

“They’re being disciplined because they broke the rules.”

“I don’t make the rules — I just enforce them.”

“Pro-union employees are bullying people.”

“If you hate it here so much, why don’t you go work somewhere else?”

Real-world example:

Trader Joe’s United, the workers’ union, alleges that this kind of misbehavior is happening right now to its members. The union president, Jamie Edwards, says management disciplined them after they gave a customer an item for free, a common practice at Trader Joe’s stores. Instead of praising them for excellent customer service, they wrote up Edwards as if they had stolen from the store. The union is opposing this as a form of targeted harassment. 

How to prepare:

Since you can’t always predict how management will use the rules against you, as evidenced by the Trader Joe’s example, you need to prepare for this brutally unjust scenario. When bosses unfairly target your co-workers, or, in the worst case, fired, it’s important that you join forces to stand up for them. Create a public petition. Email your supporters. Picket the store. There are lots of ways to rally behind workers who are bullied. “The thing that will save you is your solidarity with your fellow workers,” says Davis. “You want to, at all times, keep your positive campaign front and center.” 

Targeted harassment is awful, but it can also be galvanizing for the union drive. Spotlighting the injustice of these attacks could, in turn, encourage more of your co-workers to realize just why a union is necessary — it could help protect against these abuses of power. 

For legal recourse, it’s smart to document all instances of these abuses and report them to the NLRB. They can get employees reinstated with back pay if they determine that the employees were illegally fired for union activity, though admittedly this process can take years.

Union-Busting Tactic 6: Sowing Fear and Division

What it looks like:

As election day approaches, the atmosphere gets more frenzied, and management may accuse organizers of causing conflict, says Ramirez. In reality, management is the one heightening the tension. “They want there to be conflict, and that’s part of their overall union-busting scheme,” says Ramirez. This way, management can point to the union and say, “They’re causing this. Vote no, and you won’t have to deal with this anymore.”  

Management will sow fear and division in a variety of ways. They might enlist employees to do their dirty work by spreading anti-union messages. They might make one person their “pet” and ask them to report back about where everyone stands. Through displays of favoritism, the boss can undercut the unity and power of the group. As the saying goes, “United we bargain. Divided we beg.”

Real-world example:

Examples of sowing fear and division can range from the more obvious fearmongering to absurd claims that pit workers against each other. EWOC heard from one organizer of UAW workers who said that as election day approached, the boss said that “a vote for the union is a vote for Biden.” This was a shameless attempt to divide people along political lines, and luckily, it didn’t work.

How to prepare:

Prepare people for the last-minute frenzy. Bring it back to the issues: fair treatment, wage increases, benefits, scheduling — whatever it is they’re fighting for. Help build a barrier between your co-workers and those who might try to dissuade them at the last minute, says Ramirez. The discomfort and heightened emotions can cloud their judgment and get in the way of what they really believe.

As an added confidence boost, get people together the day before the election. Have a pizza party and get people psyched up. “Fight fear with solidarity and fun,” says Ramirez. Tell them that whatever management is doing, they’re doing to beat the union, so everyone has to hold strong. 

And when management says silly things like, “A vote for the union is a vote for Biden,” use it to rile up your co-workers. “Can you believe what they just said?” Point out the manipulation that’s baked into union busting, and you can turn management’s underhanded tactics against them, jiu jitsu-style. 

Ready to start organizing your workplace?

Contact us and we’ll put you in touch with a trained organizer!

[organizeworkers]

Your Right to Organize a Union

Organizing is how we change the world.

There is power and safety in numbers, and when we come together with our co-workers we can win change at work. 

If you’ve started organizing, you may have hit some big questions. Whether you are concerned about the legality of organizing at work or wondering what your rights are when you organize for any issue or a union drive, these questions can derail you and make even a conversation seem intimidating. That is where this guide comes in. We’ve heard from many workers who have wondered and worried about the same questions. This guide covers a few important questions and topics we’ve come across in our work supporting thousands of workers just like you. 

What Are the NLRA and the NLRB?

Passed in 1935, the NLRA, or National Labor Relations Act (also known as the Wagner Act), protects workers’ rights to unionize, bargain collectively, and strike. Before this, unions were often seen as criminal conspiracies. The NLRA also defined “unfair labor practices” and required employers to bargain in good faith. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforces it and generally cannot be overridden by local laws.

What Is Concerted Activity? 

First of all: If you’re allowed to talk on the job about anything other than work, then talking on the job about your wages, conditions, or even about organizing a union is allowed, so long as you’re not taking unauthorized breaks to do so! If your campaign is not yet public, though, remember your boss and co-workers who are not supportive can overhear you at work.

According to section 7 of the NLRA: All workers that the NLRA covers have the right to participate in protected concerted activity, which it defines as two or more workers acting together to better their pay or working conditions.  

What Does Concerted Activity Include?

Some examples of protected concerted activity include

Workers circulating a petition asking for changes to working conditions, such as better hours or increased pay

Workers joining together seeking to speak with their employer about workplace issues

Workers speaking to each other about their wages, working conditions, or benefits, including discussion on social media (as long as it has relation to group action or attempts to bring a group complaint to the boss)

A worker discussing workplace conditions on behalf of a larger group of co-workers

Workers speaking to reporters regarding concerns or working conditions

What Does Concerted Activity not Include?

The NLRA does not protect concerted activity when workers make “maliciously false” or “deliberately offensive” claims against their employer. Complaints must be directly related to a labor issue, such as wages, safety, or benefits.

In certain instances an individual may act on behalf of a group, which the NLRA protects as concerted activity, but we recommend group activity always!

What Are Public-Sector Workers?

The NLRA excludes public-sector employees, as well as agricultural and domestic laborers, independent contractors, workers employed by a parent or spouse, and workers that are covered under the Railway Labor Act. 

Public-sector employees work for government agencies, which are funded by tax dollars and provide public services rather than generate revenue. Ownership distinguishes the two sectors: If the employer listed on your paycheck is a government entity, you are a public-sector employee; if the employer listed on your pay check is an individual or non-governmental group (e.g., a sole proprietor, partnership, or LLC), you are a private-sector employee.

Laws protecting collective-bargaining rights of public-sector employees vary greatly by state.

What Is Right to Work?

Right-to-work laws prohibit requiring employees to join or pay dues or fees to a union in a unionized workplace as a condition of employment. Sixteen states currently have right-to-work laws. 

What Is At-Will Employment?

In an at-will workplace, management can legally fire a worker at any time for any reason or no reason at all. This enables bosses to fire workers for almost any reason such as disliking a worker’s hair style or their attitude. Even in at-will workplaces, however, it is illegal to punish, threaten, or fire a worker for racist, sexist, or ageist reasons or for engaging in concerted activity. 

Most workers in the U.S. who are not covered by union contracts are considered at-will employees. Currently, Montana is the only state that does not consider workers at-will. In Montana, after a probationary period, employers must have a valid reason for terminating an employee, and employees can only be fired for just cause.

What Is an Unfair Labor Practice?

An employer commits an unfair labor practice(ULP) anytime they violate a worker’s right to organize as described above. While ULPs can occur in unionized and non-unionized workplaces, this pamphlet focuses on workers organizing to form a new union.

The following are examples of ULPs that may occur before a union is established:

Spying (or the impression of spying) on union-organizing activity, including conversations

Making promises to workers to convince them to vote against unionization

Threatening consequences like firing, worse working conditions, or store closures 

Improving or offering to improve working conditions during a union campaign in order to get workers to vote no 

Discriminating against employees for supporting unionization

For a longer list of examples, please see the United Auto Workers’ helpful document “How to Spot When the Boss May Be Breaking the Law.” 

What Is Retaliation?

Retaliation is discipline from management against workers, such as deliberately reducing hours, assigning less pleasant work, or even firing the worker or closing the shop, simply for organizing. This is grounds for a ULP. Additionally, if the boss retaliates against an employee for filing a ULP, that retaliation is considered a ULP, regardless of the validity of the original complaint. 

How Do I File a ULP?

Filing a ULP charge can be a tedious process, and a worker must file it within six months of the alleged offense. The NLRB recommends contacting the information officer at your regional NLRB office before filing your charge. You must submit any evidence and a list of witnesses alongside your charge. 

Once you are ready to file a charge, you will mail this completed form to your regional NLRB office or submit it online using the NLRB’s e-file system and await contact from an agent assigned to your case. Here is a helpful diagram outlining what can happen after you file a charge.

The NLRB can make decisions like filing an injunction ordering the employer to stop the type of action under complaint or to reinstate or provide back pay to wrongfully fired employees. 

When Should I File a ULP?

As organizers, we know that the boss has disproportionate power over us, and the justice system is not always fair or just. As a result, we must not overly rely on the ULP process to accomplish our goals. Filing ULP charges should be part of a broader organizing strategy where the desired goal is not dependent on the decision of the NLRB. 

A ULP can be the subject of great conversations with co-workers. It is an opportunity to not only discuss the boss’s offense but also the limits of the legal system and the necessity of relying on each other rather than outside bodies. 

What Are Weingarten Rights?

Weingarten rights allow private-sector workers, who have a legally recognized union, to have a steward or other union representative present in any meeting that could lead to discipline. Union workers in the public sector may have similar protections depending on labor law in their state or in their union contract. Weingarten rights do not apply to non-union employees due to a ruling by the NLRB in 2004.

If you are covered by Weingarten rights, ask your boss the following questions any time you feel you are being investigated (asked questions where your answers could lead to discipline) or you might be disciplined:

“Will this meeting lead to discipline?” 

“Could my responses lead to discipline?” 

If the answer is anything other than “no” (that includes “yes,” “maybe,” or “I don’t know”), assert your right to have a union representative present. 

What Can I Do When My Boss Violates My Rights?

When employers violate your rights, organize!  

The NLRA unfortunately has many limits. Labor law is not always on our side, and employers frequently violate the rights guaranteed to workers without facing punishment. Because of overburdened NLRB and state labor offices, workers often wait a long time before the board can process and enforce labor violations 

As workers, we need to know our rights and how to assert them, but our best defense is having a large group of workers ready to take action to protect each other. Organize to build unity with your co-workers because we keep us safe.

[organizeworkers]

chappell roan poses with a copy of "Unite & Win: The Workplace Organizer's Handbook" in a new instagram story

Join the club:

[organizeworkers]

Damn, they got Everything You Wanted to Know About Starting a Union on these things?

📆 Thursday, July 11, 2024, 8:30–10 p.m. ET (5:30–7 p.m. PT)

(You can also register on your phone or computer.) Register

[organizeworkers]

We're very saddened to hear about the passing of Jane McAlevey, a true legend in labor organizing.

May her memory be a blessing. Her lessons certainly are.

[organizeworkers]

EWOC is excited to re-join the Socialism Conference for 4 days of exciting panels. We'll feature our organizing training alongside speakers like Arundhati Roy, Noura Erakat, Mohammed El-Kurd, Ilan Pappé, and more! Visit socialismconference.org TODAY ONLY for the early-bird rate!