Russ Brown: Russ Brown is a long-time anti-union consultant, who worked for many years in labor relations at Delta Airlines, before starting as an anti-union consultant for Oklahoma-based Labor Relations Institute (LRI), Inc. and now runs his own firm, Road Warrior Productions (RWP) Labor, LLC, based in Florida. "That's very likely an underestimate of how big the industry really is," Poydock said. In May 2010, the ILOs Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) issued a decision that the U.S. employer community has interpreted as an endorsement for American-style anti-union campaigns. 2021 Hutchison Group Inc.. All Rights Reserved. Under the Obama Administration, the failure of the Employee Free Choice Act demonstrated that labor cannot withstand the lobbying of the anti-union right under normal circumstances. 10.Ogletree Deakins, Traditional Labor Relations, available at https://ogletree.com/solutions/practice-areas/traditional-labor-relations/. Other anti-union consultants claim years of experience working for organized labor, including for the Teamsters, steelworkers, laborers and AFL-CIO. Russ Brown also runs the North American Transportation Employee Relations Association (NATERA), an organization dedicated to weakening union influence in the transportation sector, on which Rebecca Smith serves as a board member. Amazons relentless anti-union campaign will likely play a central role in union messaging on the PRO Act now that they have gotten the countrys attention. The decision involved an anti-union campaign at Delta airlines in which the company advised employees to destroy their ballot papers (shred it!) because under the Railway Labor Act, non-votes were counted as votes against the union. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in . Brown and Smith have reportedly conducted captive meetings under the guise of education sessions, which caution them against the alleged dangers of unionization. But since the campaign first went public in August of last year, Starbucks HQ and its union-avoidance law form, Littler Mendelson, has mounted a blistering anti-union campaign to try to stop workers from self-organizing: it . The union avoidance industry continued to grow, and LRA served as a breeding ground for several future superstars of the union-free movement. LIS is a long-established union avoidance firm that also operates under the name, The Burke Group, or TBG. Money and decision-making power are the two primary reasons why companies want to avoid unionization. Unions stifle that autonomy. Trusted by Many of the World's Best Companies, About Our Company Award Winning Industry Leader, HR Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions, Plan and Negotiate Exceptional Union Contracts, Employee Relations Assessments and Strategies, Assess the companys vulnerability to union organizing, Increase level of trust, mutual respect, and cooperation, Identify obstacles to communications, teamwork, and productivity, Secure practical suggestions for improvement, Understand major reasons for employee dissatisfaction and turnover, Discuss how supervisors can reduce the risk of costly union organizing campaigns, Help supervisors understand how their daily interactions with employees can serve as a catalyst or deterrent to union organizing, Share useful techniques for motivating employees and provide practical suggestions for self-improvement, Teach supervisors how to respond to union organizing activity, including the legal dos and donts when discussing union inquires, Clarify company expectations for the supervisory role, Improve communication, teamwork, and performance, Help reduce employee turnover, grievances, and litigations. The "Big Four" Union Avoidance Law Firms Go Global. 614-628-1433. One of the biggest spenders in recent years is Amazon. However, it is estimated that hundreds of law firms and companies engage in union-busting activities. Unless otherwise agreed in advance, all unsolicited . [i] https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=740712&rptForm=LM20Form; https://theintercept.com/2021/02/10/amazon-alabama-union-busting-koch/, [ii] https://www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw/bloomberglawnews/daily-labor-report/XDO8UHS0000000?bc=W1siU2VhcmNoICYgQnJvd3NlIiwiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvb21iZXJnbGF3LmNvbS9wcm9kdWN0L2JsYXcvc2VhcmNoL3Jlc3VsdHMvYzk5NGZkYWY2Njk3ODRlZWY1ZWMwNDFmNTU4N2I1MWIiXV04b7364334cc7ae9ee73746b2a39fefa3bcbfd714&bna_news_filter=daily-labor-report&criteria_id=c994fdaf669784eef5ec041f5587b51b&search32=z06D2qAaUyOlZ5RoTngirA%3D%3DAFxBuzXRrdQ1eS8JhXb75fLUkPDQjTdd3oCq3KwQ-HHDP0xweicPLMSsdCqq59RV_jlTjPNdfq8FAgUVzbrDJ7Oc9jwyLuv_QVo0oiA1us7ZhFnB13ZPEVTUhGezjqnjtiFX8AfvZ8tlbvpuSJmU_A%3D%3D, [iii] https://files.epi.org/uploads/LM20_C525_01_28_2013_525631-copy.pdf. Fewer problems arise when employees have faith and trust in their organizational superiors. Three of the biggest law firms that do this work are Littler Mendelson, Ogletree and Jackson Lewis, which have grown from regional operations into global union avoidance behemoths. Your employees are, too. : Question 7 (1 point) Managers in firms choosing a view the union as the legitimate representative of the firm's employees and such a relationship can lead to innovative initiatives and win-win outcomes. Littler Mendelson is the worlds largest management-side law firm focusing exclusively on labor and employment issues. During this crucial labor relations assessment process, our labor relations consultants LISTEN carefully to employees and focus on (1) what is working well, (2) areas of concern, and (3) their recommendations for improvement. 16.Testimony of Stefan Marculewicz before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, April 26, 2018, available at https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Marculewicz%20Testimony.pdf. None of these global union federations comply with the requirements of the LMRDA [Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act].16 Thus, union avoidance law firms have opposed using the 1959 LMRDA to require financial reporting from union avoidance firms and employers that hire theman original intent of the lawbut support using it to regulate global union federations, over which U.S. law has no jurisdiction. Union membership in the United States has declined dramatically over the last several decades, with just 6.2% of private sector workers belonging to a union in 2019, compared to 16.8% in 1983. Use a tool that provides enough detail to identify actual and potential issues. To augment its extensive internal union avoidance capabilities, Amazon used several leading outside anti-union consultant firms. Chrome 4 (December 2006): 651-75; John Logan, Consultants, Lawyers and the Union Free Movement in the United States since the 1970s, Industrial Relations Journal 33, no. With 30 years of experience as union avoidance consultants, we know what it takes to avert a disaster for your business. To underscore this finding, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center reported that the popularity of labor unions has grown in recent years, citing that their favorability hit 60% in January 2017, with only 35% percent of Americans viewing them unfavorably. What should you do next- Google's Union-Busting Methods Revealed. Workers at Amazons distribution center in Bessemer, Alabama are voting in a historic union election whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Follow us on Twitter @LAWCHA_ORG or @LaborOnline to take part in the discussion. For those organizations with a non-union workforce, Hutchison Group can help to discreetly determine your vulnerability to potential union organizing and reduce your risk of having to endure a union campaign. NATERA seeks to expand knowledge on union expertise issues among its members. 574-237-1125, F One commentator wrote about Brown on an online airline pilots forum: This guy is the reason American, Southwest, UPS and now ALPA are sending out letters letting us know they are watching this. After all, you cant lose a union election that doesnt happen. But union avoidance firms and law . Union-Free Strategies and Considerations In the 'New Normal', Federal Court Orders Starbucks to Re-Hire Terminated Union Supporters, The Price for Refusing to Bargain May Soon be Going Up for Employers, Say It Aint So (Trader) Joes: Grocery Chain Workers File Union Petition, NLRB General Counsel Takes Aim at Employer Free Speech, Supreme Court Favors Employer Property Rights Over Union Access To Employees, Goodbye NY: No Union For Uber DriversFor Now, $250,000 in Grants Awarded to Five Nonprofit Organizations, Illinois Employers on Notice: BIPA Claims Accrue With Each Scan or Transmission, Court Says. In September 2020, almost 1000 nurses voted to join the NNU in a landslide victory, thereby providing the labor movements largest hospital victory in the South since 1975. Undeterred by this setback, Brown and Smith were involved in a bitter decertification campaign involving pilots at Flexjet LLC in 2018. Supported for the latest versions of: This same billionaire class, including some of the very . 20.Stefan Marculewicz and Brent Wilton, Employer Freedom of Opinion and Expression Within the Context of Union OrganizingA Fresh Perspective from the ILO, Littler, November 10, 2010, available at littler.com/publication-press/publication/employer-freedom-opinion-and-expression-within-context-union. With 30 years of experience as union avoidance consultants, we know what it takes to avert a disaster for your business. A union organizing campaign can be an incredibly divisive and destructive experience for your organization or business. We will work to guide you in the best ways to educate your employees about the dangers and problems of unionization and address underlying issues in your workplace. They face highly motivated, well-resourced "union avoidance firms" that deploy any means possible to prevent workers from organizing. Based on an analysis of publicly available reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that employers now spend nearly $340 million per year on union avoidance firms. Employees in favor of unionizing there cited overtime pay cuts, fewer breaks and wage gaps as the main reasons for organizing with the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers . Advised by its U.S. union avoidance lawyers, Nissan insisted that the U.S. NCP should not broker an agreement that would place the company in a position of . Under international law, information from employers . John Logan is Professor and Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University and a visiting scholar at the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center. Labor rights is an issue whose time has come. As a result, employees are far less likely to seek out union representation, and the union is denied potential inroads or issues they might otherwise exploit in their attempt to organize the workforce. Our team has also helped companies avoid hundreds of campaigns across the country, including UAW, Steelworkers, Teamsters, CWA, IBEW, UFCW, UNITE-HERE, IAM, AFTRA, SEIU, The Laborers, GMPP, Sheet Metal Workers, 1199, just to name a few. For this to happen, much depends on the employees day-to-day relationship with their immediate supervisor. Lolito, the attorney with union-avoidance firm Littler Mendelson, essentially tried to flip the script in an interview with Salon, saying that avoidance services are necessary and important . This report was originally published in the New Labor Forum and was written byJohn Logan,Professor and Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. 4 (December 2006), pp. Ogletree opened its first overseas office, which it called a game-changer, in Berlin in 2012. November 4, 2021. I have written about the message during captive meetings in greater detail elsewhere. Equip your managers with the skills they need. Even before it engaged the services of these two anti-union consultant firms, Amazon had hired Morgan Lewis, one of the nations largest law firms specializing in union avoidance activities. An Amazon-sponsored billboard urging employees to return their unionization ballots is seen on March 28, 2021, in Bessemer, Alabama. These employee relations assessments are almost always appreciated by the employees, and the insights derived from these conversations provide management with a valuable opportunity to address areas of concern in a proactive manner. . to discredit them through global campaigns.8 Likewise, one senior Ogletree attorney (who advised the U.S. employer group at the ILO) has defended clients in global corporate campaigns.9 The firm states that it responds to all forms of union organizing activity, including global attacks.10 Jackson Lewis, meanwhile, has warned employers that global corporate campaigns are about to turn nasty,11 and predicted that, as multinationals struggle with more sophisticated union tactics, international corporate campaigns may shift more toward the American-style of organizing and counter-campaigns, particularly in European countries.12, Union avoidance attorneys have cautioned against signing global framework agreements with global union federations because they provide labor with ammunition and can deny a business the use of union avoidance measures.13 Littler attorneys have criticized Swedish fashion retailer H&M for signing an international framework agreement with UNI Global Union and a neutrality agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers, which resulted in the unionization of over 2000 retail workers in New York City and Long Island. Thomas McKibbin, a . Thus, just as Nathan Sheffermans LRA spawned anti-union consultants and firms that dominated the business in the 1960s and 1970s, so too has LRI acted as a breeding ground for new union avoidance experts over the past two decades. Hotel Information. Share your views of unionization and communicate the repercussions of a union at the start of employment, so that there is no misunderstanding down the line. The success of almost every company is largely determined by the performance and productivity of their employees. . Consider offering benefits like vacation time, compensation packages, and tuition reimbursement, and be sure to communicate the value of these offers. Union avoidance law firms immediately publicized the CFAs decision. Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. . Firefox Chaired by Jackson Lewis attorneys and headquartered in Brussels, L&E Global now has over twenty partner law firms and offers services in over 25 jurisdictions spanning six continents, including the European Union, Australia, Brazil, India, and China. We will train your leaders, we will educate your employees. One of Browns former LRI colleagues says that hes knows up close and personal, from first-hand experience, what its like to run a successful campaign to defeat a union organizing attempt. RWP videos warn employers that during union organizing campaigns, You only have one chance to win, which appears to mirror Amazons approach at Bessemer. After leaving the Teamsters reportedly fired for gross incompetence Smith started working as a anti-union consultant. waiving employer rights . In a move the U.S. National Contact Point (NCP) described as regretful, Nissan refused its offer of a non-binding mediation process. Barnes & Thornburg is involved in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's executive legislative committee in Washington, D.C. We monitor what's happening on the legislative and regulatory front, and we communicate these developments to our clients regularly. Global Services - General Co-Chair, Global Services - Japan Co-Chair. One major difference between union avoidance law firms such as Morgan Lewis and consultant firms such as Road Warrior Productions and Labor Information Services is that consultants conduct so-called direct persuader activity i.e., they have face-to-face contact with employees while the law firms generally avoid this. Question. Tracking the union avoidance firms behind anti-union campaigns is intentionally made difficult by firms that subcontract out work to other firms that hire independent contractors to avoid federal reporting requirements laid out by the Department of Labor and shield themselves from public scrutiny. 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