#Piett is the best

[musewrangler]

And her Father stumbled. Lord Vader actually stumbled. Piett realized then that it was her power not his Sith commander's which was causing this.

Karking hells.

“Princess…” he said, managing to get to his feet. She may be royal and possessed with this strange power, but she was also a teenager who needed grounding. Comfort.

She blinked and the oppression in the room lightened.

“I’m apparently not a princess, Captain,” she said, icy calm in her wrath now. “I am the bastard child of this….”

“You are NOT!” Lord Vader’s voice rumbled behind her, and the room trembled again. Piett hoped that the Lady’s structural integrity could handle the conflict between father and daughter.

“Your mother and I married in secret,” he continued. "You are our daughter. And I did not abandon you. I thought you dead until a year ago. Then I hunted you as discreetly as possible. The Captain has helped to find you.”

Piett watched her take this in, her shoulders heaving with her deep breaths as though she had been sprinting.

[lieutenantselnia]

Because my new f/os made me wonder about this ...

If you have an f/o who's not usually referred to by their first name, but instead their last name, a nickname, or something like a title or honorific, how to you refer to them? This can apply both to how they are addressed in-universe in their source material and/or how they are commonly referred to in the fandom.

[zeldurz-art]

Did an art for Imptober's "Wet Hot Seswennan Summer", where the boys have an anime beach episode.

[marvelstars]

Darth Vader #33

I am really enjoying Sabé and Vader relationship in this series, this issue Vader lost control of his powers because of a force wave so he gets out of the executor to stop himself from destroying it with everybody aboard. Sabé goes for him and leaves him on an unhabitated planet so he can wait this out.

Sabé has been staying with Vader as Padmé handmaiden, like she used to do when Padmé was alive, she´s trying to bring Vader back to the light side because she believed Padmé words before she died but what makes this more personal is that she´s also doing this for Anakin himself, which makes sense because she meet him when he was a child and it pains her to see him so lost.

Now, just like Padmé, she´s tematically opposing the corrupting force in Vader´s life, the Emperor, who wishes his apprentice just enyojed the power high this force wave is giving him without worrying with what happens to the people around him, once again, the Emperor is showing himself as mainly a force of chaos while Vader sees himself as a force of order, even if they are both Sith, this has been a theme in the comics.

For Anakin this leads to the question, ¿Power or Suffering? ¿Dark or Light?

[musewrangler]

Oh how I love this movie. Thank you friend! @winterinhimring

Well, she may wander into my dreams. Wouldn’t it be nice, if I could call her by name and pretend we’ve met before? I’ve waited a long time for such a lady. 

Ladyhawke (1985) dir. Richard Donner

[christian-oc-tournament]

Please vote based on the picture AND the description!

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Scraps [Empire Reimagined @musewrangler - Star Wars OC]

One person uses Matt’s full name and that privilege goes to Admiral Piett. Matt has also been referred to frequently as ‘dear boy’ and ‘the Admiral’s boy’ But the latter title is not usually used in Matt’s hearing. He began as a Rebel pilot, but when Death Squadron merged with the Alliance after Endor, he asked to serve on the Lady. Eventually, he worked his way up to the security lead for Piett’s detail where he discovered that he cared deeply for his charge. The feeling was mutual as Piett never had children of his own and Matt’s family disowned him for joining the Rebellion. His parents were killed in a speeder crash before any amends could be made. Piett and Matt grew gradually, not only into a good working relationship, but also into that of father and son. It is the great unspoken sentiment that everyone on the Executor knows about.

Loch [Loch, Stock, and Gun Barrels @larissa-the-scribe]

The smallest little (autistic-coded) guy, despite being a centuries-old scottish water fae with a dragon friend (named Friend). Accidentally ended up in America, and is doing his best to learn about this new place by reading the New Testament and the Constitution--which might have been useful, if he hadn't ended up in the Wild West. He is now following around an outlaw and getting vocally bewildered by all the laws this guy is breaking.

[fandomsniper]

🪤

----

Krennic: I wanted to apologize.

Tarkin: Good.

Krennic: Let me finish. I said I wanted to. And then I realized that I'm not sorry.

----

Motti: Veers gave me a ‘get better soon’ card.

Needa: That’s…nice. I think.

Motti: I’m not sick. He just thinks I could do better.

----

Needa: You're smiling. What happened?

Piett: What? Can't I smile just because I feel like it?

Veers: Venka tripped and fell down the stairs today.

----

Lastok: I trust Venka.

Heert: You think he knows what he's doing?

Lastok: I wouldn't go that far.

----

Piett: Why do you act like you're always right? It's annoying.

Krennic: Unfortunately I'm always right. Everything I say, it's a fact not an opinion.

----

Motti: As an empath my heart really aches when you guys are losers.

----

Needa: That's a great shirt, Max. 

Veers: Thanks Lorth. 

Needa: It'd look even better on Firmus' floor. 

Piett: .....Are you hitting on Max for me??

----

Heert: My social battery has exploded, killing several innocent bystanders.

----

Covell: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold?

Venka, to Lastok: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house.

Lastok: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million.

Venka: Good thinking.

----

Motti: Save a horse, ride the aristocrat.

Jerjerrod: *looks at Piett* What does he mean? 

Piett: …I’m staying out of this.

[ask-sad-ghost-piett]

Back in my day, you had to sift through thousands of probe droid reports with the best hope being that you'd find a lead to the location of the Rebel Base. And yet, we still found the Rebel Base.

Nowadays, no one can find anything without an ancient map of some sorts directly leading to a specific individual and various supernatural nonsense. Worse still, the new generation has no idea whatsoever how to handle incomplete maps. They fall to pieces if they can't find the last piece.

Do you know how many pieces of a map to Luke Skywalker Captain Needa and I received during my career? Absolutely 0. You worked with what you had, and if that went awry, you were Force choked.

Do you know how many special Force sensitive tricks I had access to in the event that I could not locate Grand Admiral Thrawn? Absolutely 0. If I needed to contact him urgently, I called the Chimaera and was transferred 15 times with a total hold time of 6 hours before finally reaching his voice mail.

And so, next time I hear another living soul complaining about missing map pieces, I am going to throw my caf at them.

-Admiral Piett

[lieutenantselnia]

@kyuoki I don't know how familiar exactly you are with these guys (aside from me constantly throwing posts about them onto your timeline lately haha), but I know you're into horror movies so it still made me think of you😂

[musewrangler]

Guess who just watched Empire Strikes Back on the big screen for the first time ever! 😊😊😊😊😊🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

My poor exhausted Admiral was so very done 😉

[lieutenantselnia]

The voices of my f/os are often quite important for me and I feel with Firmus it's no different ... First of all, I genuinely adore how softspoken he talks. Even though he rises to a righ rank, he's not boasting about like some other officers have the tendency to do, but is speaking rather calm and measured, almost quiet sometimes (I literally have to turn the volume up and down all the time in some of his scenes, because I want to hear him properly but the other characters seem too loud in comparison then). He's still able to raise his voice when needed, and will do so if he has to give an urgent order that must be followed immediately, but I think it's just not in his nature to do it without reason. As someone rather quiet myself, I really love that about him.

Another thing, of course, is the accent. As a non-native speaker I'm not proficient enough to determine what specific accent he has, but I love how that rolled R slips through occasionally. Not nearly as strong or frequently as for example Grand Moff Tarkin uses it*, it's more like a pleasant surprise that pops up every now and then. I believe it's called received pronunciation (any British people here who can help me out?), and I personally just find it wonderful to listen to.

*Say what you will about the character but his accent absolutely slaps, I'd totally listen to an audiobook read by him. Generally so many of the Imperial officers have such nice voices to listen to, because they casted mostly British actors for them and due to Star Wars being already an older movie, many of them were using that kind of accent that was more common at the time than it is today. In my humble opinion they should bring that back especially for villains >:)

[accidental-spice]

“All right then,” Sola said and held her hand out to the Captain who took it in his. “Best of luck. We’re in this together. Don’t forget that.”

Hazel eyes met hers.

“I won’t, Your Highness.”

-- The Missing Queen, by @musewrangler , chapter six

This is part one of a project I've alluded to that will be relevant to like two whole people

Anyways, this is a scene from the aforementioned fic where Sola and Piett have started their scheme! I REALLY liked drawing her outfit, I was aiming for some low key Attolia vibes

[aricrashz0ne]

This sparks such joy in me.

Admiral Firmus Piett, making Vader’s life on the Executor easy since 1980. Lol.

[marvelstars]

I really love Vader´s short scenes with Daine Jir, General Veers and Admiral Piett, they were bassically his right hands there, he listens to them even when it´s advice he doesn´t agree to and they are in fact working together as group. As long as they were competent and did their job Vader worked with them and listened to their advice.

I like the prequels but in a way I believe some creators post PT have forgotten this about Vader, especially in the comics, they are trying to write Vader as a kind of extension of Anakin circa 23 years in the middle of his breakdown in ROTS instead of writing him as the 40 year old man Darth Vader is, the guy who wanted to bring order to the galaxy, who actually believed the Empire was the best way to achieve that, who believed the Senate still had a part to play in this whole thing and who believed the Death Star was a tecnological terror, who actually had forgotten about Obi-Wan and Yoda and whose only disloyalty towards the Empire and the Emperor was over Palpatine´s intention of killing Luke.

As Lucas said Vader at 40 is a man with a job with a twisted perception of reality and deep in the darkside but whose main motivation, peace in the galaxy, was something that still appealed to him. He didn´t go on a killing spree every tuesday for shit and giggles.

This also can be seen in his interactions with Lando and Boba Fett.

I personally love the part from ROTJ novelization in which Vader thinks to himself why is Luke saying he has to let go of his hate if he doesn´t hate anyone(except for himself, deep denial there but this is Vader´s honest pov)

[beautouslysandy]

blood before sunrise

dallas winston x gn!reader

by-sandy

word count- 988

warnings- angst, language, kinda gory, not proofread and lowercase intended

a/n 💌- this came to me in a dream last night and had to put it to life! this makes me cry. enjoy!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• the blood was dripping faster every second, you couldn’t go any faster. dallas had been shot and you were speeding down the road to the nearest hospital.

“your going to get us both killed, doll.” dallas said with a groan and a cough that was full of blood

“better than just you dying.” you said, you were furious he was fooling around and look what happened. but more than that you were freaking out, you couldn’t loose him. he is all you had left.

finally arriving at the hospital, you got out faster than light. opening the passenger door, you got him out his arm over your shoulder. him putting all his weight on you, giving him support.

“i am so sorry, doll.” he said, giving you a bloody kiss on the cheek.

“it’s okay, let’s just get you fixed up.” you said entering the hospital, the nurse immediately noticing you and taking dallas into custody.

”i love you, your gonna be okay.” you say not only trying to comfort him but yourself as well

“i love you too. i will be back, doll.” he said getting taken away by a few nurses. “stay here, ma’am.” a nurse said before heading in with the rest, behind those doors only authorized staff are allowed behind

all you could do was nod, looking down at you clothes they were covered in blood splotches from dallas's wounds. you went to the restrooms to try your best to clean up.

soon enough your face was cleaned of blood, pushing your sweaty hair off your face you headed to the nearest phone and entered in the curtis’ house phone number.

“hello?” a familiar husky voice answered

“darry? it’s me, y/n. dallas is in the hospital, he got shot.” you said, you began to hyperventilate at the words that came out of your mouth

“oh shit. we will be there. the town one, right?” he asked, you heard the worry in his voice

“yeah…” you said finally looking around the bleak hospital that provided no comfrot

“listen. he is gonna be alright, he is dallas winston.” darry said comforting you

“yeah, just worried.”

“there is nothing to worry about, he will be okay. see you soon, bye.”

“bye.”

you hung up the phone and placed it on the stand. heading to a chair, that was falsely advertised, it looked comfortable but it was the exact opposite.

you couldn’t do anything but stare at those doors. you were shaking, you needed him to be okay. why did he have to scare you like this.

“y/n?” a voice called, you turned to see all the boys.

“hey.” you said with a sniffle, you feel like crying your eyes out. you walk to them and they start asking what happened.

“doll go back inside!” dallas yelled, you we’re coming out of bucks when your boyfriend yelled that to you. soon yours eyes land on a group of socs, the one in the middle was holding a gun.

“dallas! no!” that was all you could get out before the shot was fired, you heard the thump of his body hitting the ground.

you ran to him faster than ever, holding him asking him questions to keep him awake.

“just get me to a hospital doll and everything will be alright.” he said with a groan

you did as he said, trying your best not to cause him any pain.

”damn socs.” steve said with an angry tone

“excuse me.” a squeaky voice said.

you all turned to see a small and piette female nurse.

“hi, i am looking for who came with dallas winston?” “me.” you said eager to know how he was doing

“i am so sorry, we did everything we could.” the nurse said with a sad smile.

everything stopped, everything. you started crying but you couldn’t feel it. you couldn’t feel anything. your world crumbled around you, only hearing the occasional muffling voices. you were saying something but you couldn’t even comprehend it. your own words and you had no clue what you were saying.

he was gone, this isn’t fair. he said he would be alright. he said he would be right back. “no. no. no.” you said shaking your said, those were the only words you could say between your hot tears.

“he said- he said.” you said starting to hyperventilate

“he can’t be gone. you have to be mistaken. he is my dallas, he isn’t gone. he isn’t.” you said wiping your tears now glaring at the nurse

“i am sorry but…he is. would you like his things?” the nurse said, she looked at darry

“liar. you…you’re lying.” you continued, bawling

“y/n…” darry said looking at you then the nurse “they would like his things, thank you.”

“she is lying, tell her darry. please, he said he would be alright. he said-“ you went on, as darry held you.

the nurse returned with dallas’s things in a hospital bag making you cry even harder. ponyboy looked through it finding his st. christopher necklace and handing it to darry so he could put it on you.

“thank you.” you said sniffling, playing with the necklace, taking the bag from ponyboy. “can i see him? please.” you asked the nurse

“of course, right this way.” she said leading you and the group to a hospital room

there he was, lying on the hospital bed. motionless. un-dallas like.

you started bawling, again. running to his body and hugging it. “why did you leave me, you ass. why? we had our whole life’s planned. why?” you said, the kissing his lips for the very last time. an hour later, darry had to pull you away. he insisted on you staying at the curtis house and that he would pick your car up later. the drive there was miserable. you felt emotionless, he is gone. the love of your life is gone. you have no one.

[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. 

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