| Copyright © 2008 United Mine Workers of America |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Anti-Union Consultants
During the course of your organizing campaign, the chances are good that your employer will campaign against the union
according to strategies and methods developed by an "anti-union consultant." AFL-CIO statistics indicate that anti-union
"consultants" are now active in approximately 80% of all union campaigns. These consultants make a full time and very
profitable profession of fighting unions. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Union. Fortunately, there is a growing body of
knowledge on how to counter the consultants.
You and your fellow In-House Committee members should work with your UMWA Organizer to prepare yourselves for the
strategies and tactics that will be used by the anti-union consultants. They often bring to the employer's campaign a good
deal of expensive gimmickry: computers, direct mail, polls, psychological techniques, and a large assortment of printed
matter - all of it designed to talk employees out of uniting together in a union to improve their jobs.
It is, of course, impossible to predict exactly what a consultant will bring to your campaign. Different consultants use different
styles and they usually fall somewhere between two extremes.
In one camp are the consultants who recommend "hardball" tactics. They train supervisors and managers to threaten, to
discipline union supporters as they try to associate the union with a constant stream of negativity. For example, they pound
your fellow employees with reports about strikes, never bothering to mention that strikes account for a tiny fraction (2%) of all
negotiating encounters, and that you, in any event, will never strike as a UMWA member unless a majority of you and your
coworkers vote to do so. And even then a strike must still be authorized by the UMWA International President.
In another camp are the consultants who train your supervisors to "love the workers to death." Suddenly, your supervisor
begins to show interest in you, your children, and what you did last weekend.
Still another group of consultants bring a mix of both the "hardball" and "love" strategies with an added twist: the employer
admits it has mistreated its employees, but begs you to give the company "one more chance."
Get your Committee together with the UMWA Organizer and learn about these techniques. The sooner you do this, the more
skillfully you can predict the likely impact of these strategies on your fellow employees, the better you can plan the handling
of your issues, the faster you can counter the company's steps.
Ordinarily, supervisors are encouraged by anti-union consultants to, as the consultants put it, "do three things:
communicate, communicate, and communicate." The advice makes sense. Unfortunately this can be effective. Employers
have access to their employees as a "captive audience" for the whole shift. Compared to a union organizer, the employer
has a far greater opportunity to flood employees with communications: one-on-one conversations, pamphlets, speeches,
and video presentations. Unfortunately, the UMWA Organizer cannot be there on these occasions to represent the other
side. Therefore, you - the In-House Committee member - must play a critical role in the campaign. You are in the workplace,
so a big job therefore falls on your shoulders: to be at the job site working to remind your fellow employees of the positive
improvements a union can bring.
If you were to assemble a group of experienced organizers and ask them to discuss consultants, most of them would have
the following observations:
The average employee will seldom, if ever, see or hear the consultant. Consultants work behind the scenes so that it looks
as if your employer is dealing with you on his/her own.
Consultants get to the workers through supervisors. They intensively train and indoctrinate supervisors to act strictly
according to the consultant's instructions.
Consultants often urge supervisors to pound one message into employees over and over again: "if you unionize, you could
lose some of your benefits, be forced to go on strike and lose your income." Consultants coordinate a concerted effort to
arouse and inflame the employees' natural fear of the unknown.
In his or her communications, the consultant coaches the company to attack the Union's constitution on:
Consultants recommend that employers skirt the very borderline of the law with phrases like, "we'll have to bargain
everything 'from scratch'," or "you may lose benefits," or "the workplace may close or relocate."
Through it all, the union will be portrayed as a group of "outsiders" who are just after your dues money.
If these tactics are ever effective, it is because they serve one overriding purpose: to divert attention away from the issues
that you and your fellow employees have raised.
Remember: the consultant is a mercenary, a hired gun. His/her stock-in-trade is fear and confusion. Your task is to be
better trained, more knowledgeable about your workplace, more persuasive, more credible, and most important, more
respected than the employer's representatives. It takes work, but the rewards are great.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keeping an Eye Out for "Consultants"
It is important to the campaign to find out early if the company will be using anti-union consultant. Certain signs may become
apparent and you should watch for and report them to the Organizer.
If you find out the name of the consultant, your Organizer may be able to provide you with his/her method of operation and
tactics. Ask your Organizer for the AFL-CIO "RUB Sheets" (Report on Union Busters) on this consultant.
Next: Facts About Initiation Fees, Dues, Assessments, and Signing Petitions
During the course of your organizing campaign, the chances are good that your employer will campaign against the union
according to strategies and methods developed by an "anti-union consultant." AFL-CIO statistics indicate that anti-union
"consultants" are now active in approximately 80% of all union campaigns. These consultants make a full time and very
profitable profession of fighting unions. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Union. Fortunately, there is a growing body of
knowledge on how to counter the consultants.
You and your fellow In-House Committee members should work with your UMWA Organizer to prepare yourselves for the
strategies and tactics that will be used by the anti-union consultants. They often bring to the employer's campaign a good
deal of expensive gimmickry: computers, direct mail, polls, psychological techniques, and a large assortment of printed
matter - all of it designed to talk employees out of uniting together in a union to improve their jobs.
It is, of course, impossible to predict exactly what a consultant will bring to your campaign. Different consultants use different
styles and they usually fall somewhere between two extremes.
In one camp are the consultants who recommend "hardball" tactics. They train supervisors and managers to threaten, to
discipline union supporters as they try to associate the union with a constant stream of negativity. For example, they pound
your fellow employees with reports about strikes, never bothering to mention that strikes account for a tiny fraction (2%) of all
negotiating encounters, and that you, in any event, will never strike as a UMWA member unless a majority of you and your
coworkers vote to do so. And even then a strike must still be authorized by the UMWA International President.
In another camp are the consultants who train your supervisors to "love the workers to death." Suddenly, your supervisor
begins to show interest in you, your children, and what you did last weekend.
Still another group of consultants bring a mix of both the "hardball" and "love" strategies with an added twist: the employer
admits it has mistreated its employees, but begs you to give the company "one more chance."
Get your Committee together with the UMWA Organizer and learn about these techniques. The sooner you do this, the more
skillfully you can predict the likely impact of these strategies on your fellow employees, the better you can plan the handling
of your issues, the faster you can counter the company's steps.
Ordinarily, supervisors are encouraged by anti-union consultants to, as the consultants put it, "do three things:
communicate, communicate, and communicate." The advice makes sense. Unfortunately this can be effective. Employers
have access to their employees as a "captive audience" for the whole shift. Compared to a union organizer, the employer
has a far greater opportunity to flood employees with communications: one-on-one conversations, pamphlets, speeches,
and video presentations. Unfortunately, the UMWA Organizer cannot be there on these occasions to represent the other
side. Therefore, you - the In-House Committee member - must play a critical role in the campaign. You are in the workplace,
so a big job therefore falls on your shoulders: to be at the job site working to remind your fellow employees of the positive
improvements a union can bring.
If you were to assemble a group of experienced organizers and ask them to discuss consultants, most of them would have
the following observations:
The average employee will seldom, if ever, see or hear the consultant. Consultants work behind the scenes so that it looks
as if your employer is dealing with you on his/her own.
Consultants get to the workers through supervisors. They intensively train and indoctrinate supervisors to act strictly
according to the consultant's instructions.
Consultants often urge supervisors to pound one message into employees over and over again: "if you unionize, you could
lose some of your benefits, be forced to go on strike and lose your income." Consultants coordinate a concerted effort to
arouse and inflame the employees' natural fear of the unknown.
In his or her communications, the consultant coaches the company to attack the Union's constitution on:
- the salaries of union officers and employees
- union fines and the union's internal trial procedures
- dues
- "outside international control
Consultants recommend that employers skirt the very borderline of the law with phrases like, "we'll have to bargain
everything 'from scratch'," or "you may lose benefits," or "the workplace may close or relocate."
Through it all, the union will be portrayed as a group of "outsiders" who are just after your dues money.
If these tactics are ever effective, it is because they serve one overriding purpose: to divert attention away from the issues
that you and your fellow employees have raised.
Remember: the consultant is a mercenary, a hired gun. His/her stock-in-trade is fear and confusion. Your task is to be
better trained, more knowledgeable about your workplace, more persuasive, more credible, and most important, more
respected than the employer's representatives. It takes work, but the rewards are great.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keeping an Eye Out for "Consultants"
It is important to the campaign to find out early if the company will be using anti-union consultant. Certain signs may become
apparent and you should watch for and report them to the Organizer.
- Supervisors and foremen attending meetings not normally held.
- Strange lawyer-types walking around the workplace.
- Foremen talking one-to-one to employees involved in the campaign.
- Rental cars in the office parking lot (consultants are usually from out of town).
- Company conducting a survey.
- A change in attitude by supervisors or foremen.
If you find out the name of the consultant, your Organizer may be able to provide you with his/her method of operation and
tactics. Ask your Organizer for the AFL-CIO "RUB Sheets" (Report on Union Busters) on this consultant.
Next: Facts About Initiation Fees, Dues, Assessments, and Signing Petitions
United We Bargain:
Get Involved & Know Your Rights
Get Involved & Know Your Rights