No matter how advanced and well planned a union campaign may be, it will be largely ineffective if the managers called upon to carry out the campaign are lackluster or unmotivated. A manager's lack of interest in union prevention is not necessarily a reflection on their commitment to the company's message; rather, it is frequently a function of managers already being fully engaged with their current duties and responsibilities.
Union-free strategies necessarily involve communications and, with that, rules that govern what employers may say to employees. Most often, the focus is on labor law restrictions regarding such efforts. For example, promises in return for a company win, or threats in the case of a union win, are unlawful. Interrogation into the issues driving union interest, or who is leading the charge, are equally prohibited. However, the federal labor law is not the only source of concern with respect to such matters.
Regular readers of Management Report will know that prevention is a key element of any union-deterrent strategy. Preventing the conditions that lead to union interest or that could be perceived as unfair labor practices is an important component of such strategy. On the latter point, it could be said that prevention of the appearance of unfair labor practices is essential.
When creating a union campaign, communications matter. After all, a campaign is not much more than a series of well-scripted communications carefully woven together. This month, we share some tips on several important communication points.
Q. I'm conducting an audit of my workforce to run through scenarios if a union were to file a petition and have run into a problem. I have production supervisors at my manufacturing facility. Some of them work as real “supervisors” as I understand the term under law. Others, not so much. What can I do in this situation to make sure that my production supervisors are excluded from potential organizing?
Many employers facing a union election are inclined to give some sort of benefit—or promise of a benefit—to sway voter opinions. Some actions clearly overstep the line of lawfulness. For example, an employer cannot suddenly give employees a 20% wage increase on the eve of an election to win over their votes. The question becomes, however, how much of a promise is too much? When will an employer cross that line? As recently discussed in Brown-Forman Corporation, 373 NLRB No. 145 (2024), the line is closer than many employers may think.
When it comes to any election, the single most important factor influencing voters is the information that is informing their decision. One could even argue that information is the only factor that matters. Think for a moment when you have cast a ballot: You formed your opinions based on the information you possessed. The question of how voters will process information is, to say the least, complicated. Some voters will rely on prior experience, others will find some sources more credible than others, while yet others will be predisposed to accept certain information. The art of election campaigning depends in significant part on persuading voters on how to accept and consider the information available to them.
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