According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Union membership is on the rise for people under age 35 there were almost 400,000 more union members younger than age 35 in 2018 than there were in 2017. Hutchison Group is a nationally recognized HR and labor relations consulting firm. Fortunately, you don't have to know the answer -- because we do. These firms include IRI Consultants, recently hired by Google, and the anodyne-sounding Labor Relations Institute, which the report says is one of the nation's largest union-avoidance firms. 2013-2023 Adams, Nash & Haskell, Inc. All Rights Reserved. . 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. Soft Opening for EPAs Green Bank Funding to Reduce Emissions, Partner Tina Dorr Named President of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Rare Victory for California Employers: Ninth Circuit Says State Arbitration Law Preempted By Federal Law. Your employees are, too. Learn how to create an environment at your business where your employees will feel no need to seek outside representation with our union avoidance training. 11.Jackson Lewis, Surveying the New Labor Law Landscape, 2011, available at https://www.acc.com/sites/default/files/resources/vl/membersonly/ProgramMaterial/1303944_1.pdf. 317-231-7433, F 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. The PRO Act, which passed the House of Representatives for the second time in March,would limit several employer anti-union actions, including captive audience meetings and election delaying tactics, increase penalties for discrimination against union supporters and require prompt reporting by employers who engage consultants and law firms for the purpose of getting employees to reject unionization. November 4, 2021. You can also participate in Management Education & Development, or draw together your whole organization with ourPowersharing programs. She spent the first half of her organizing life . The autonomy to run your business as you desire is paramount to the success of your business. 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 . Labor rights is an issue whose time has come. Don't forget to like us! Learn more about the Union Free Privilege Academy Here. According to Pitt's financial disclosure reports, the Office of University . The firm also provides comprehensive counseling related to drafting, review and revisions of employer handbooks and manuals. When determining the appropriate mix of tools to assess risk, we recommend organizations consider the following: 1. An Amazon-sponsored billboard urging employees to return their unionization ballots is seen on March 28, 2021, in Bessemer, Alabama. Littler attorneys have argued that, under international law, employers not only have a right, but also have an obligation to oppose unions: ILO jurisprudence requires them to speak out against unionization, otherwise workers will be denied access to information they need to make an informed choice: [I]t may be a violation of international law for employers to be limited in their right to freedom of expression and opinion . The Dangers Of Union Avoidance. With 30 years of experience as union avoidance consultants, we know what it takes to avert a disaster for your business. 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 . Should you choose to contact an attorney at Barnes & Thornburg LLP (via January 18, 2023. (312) 836-0100. 1.John Logan, The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States, British Journal of Industrial Relations 44, no. This same billionaire class, including some of the very . getty. When you start to notice the early warning signs of union organization, its too late. Prevent Costly and Disruptive Union Organizing Campaigns. Google hired IRI Consultants, a firm known for its anti-union activities, for advice on how to deal with growing worker unrest. Factor in geography. When Britain introduced its new union recognition law in 1999, one U.S. firm wrote: "Sixty-five years' U.S. experience with union organizational experience provides valuable parallels from which U.K. employers can learn how to stay union free. Information is found on slide 7. John Logan, "Consultants, Lawyers, and the 'Union Free' Movement in . Unless otherwise agreed in advance, all unsolicited Although we excel in union avoidance and elections, a hallmark of Littler's practice remains the ability to prevent workplace issues from ending up in court or administrative tribunals, sparing our clients time-consuming and costly headaches. With ANHS, we make sure you stay union-free. Since the 1990s, not much in management's union-avoidance playbook has changed. Equally important to identifying employee concerns, our improving labor relations assessment process helps to reaffirm that management values employees ideas and contributions, which are essential for maintaining a positive working relationship. Supported for the latest versions of: Also, it should be noted that when companies wait to fix problems until after a campaign begins, the union is quick to take credit for any improvements, telling employees look, were already forcing the company to make changes, just wait until after the election.. Union avoidance law firms have grown increasingly concerned that unions have used International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and other international labor standards to advance organizing campaigns. E-mail or other means of communication), do not disclose information you regard Littler attorneys have also proposed that global union federations be regulated by U.S. law. 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. And he is why we will all be looked upon as pariahs if the Union is decertified. Consultants . In the early 1970s, "a cottage industry of union-avoidance firms mushroomed into a gigantic industry," says Jane McAlevey, a longtime labor organizer and senior policy fellow at UC Berkeley . This makes proceedings more difficult during an already trying time. Research on union avoidance firms Power structure analysis and strategy Mission-driven sectors of the economy (health care and education) About Jane. The "Big Four" Union Avoidance Law Firms Go Global. In what they called a fresh perspectives from the ILO, Littler attorneys (who have represented Delta on labor issues) wrote that the Delta decision was of tremendous significance and the first definitive statement by the ILO to confirm that the right of employers to express their opinion about labor unions trying to organize their employees under U.S. law is consistent with international law. Jackson Lewis concluded that, with the Delta decision, the ILO had effectively endorsed employers use of third-party persuaders or management consultants to communicate directly with employees about managements opposition to unionization.20 International labor organizations protested their interpretation of the Delta decision, but union avoidance law firms have continued to cite it in policy briefs, newsletters, conference presentations, blog posts, and at every other opportunity. . Our team at Adams, Nash, Haskell & Sheridan will work with management to help your organization achieve the best possible outcome. It's not only Morgan Lewis: Amazon has links to other leading union avoidance firms and experts: Amazon has connections with several other leading anti-union law firms. 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. Often, its your efforts that can protect them from unwittingly putting everything on the line. Ogletree Deakins is the nations second largest management-side law firm specializing in union avoidance. Undeterred by this setback, Brown and Smith were involved in a bitter decertification campaign involving pilots at Flexjet LLC in 2018. The NLRB found that the company had committed numerous and egregious unfair labor practices during its anti-union campaign in a 2017 NLRB election. April 21, 2021. Union avoidance law firms have advocated using the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Corporations to attack global union federations, cautioned corporations against signing international framework agreements that limit their union avoidance options, and argued that, under ILO jurisprudence, employers have not just a right but an obligation to campaign against unionization and collective bargaining. Civil rights leaders, ministers at black churches, and leaders of historically black colleges criticized Nissan for running one of the nastiest anti-union campaigns in modern American history. The United Auto Workers (UAW) and the global union federation IndustriALL subsequently filed a complaint accusing Nissan of violating the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Brown has repeatedly lobbied for and written in support of rule changes under the Trump Administration that would have facilitated decertification under the Railway Labor Act. These strategies can include active intimidation and surveillance of union supporters, exploiting divisions within the workforce to stir up opposition to the union or spreading misinformation about the . Question. waiving employer rights . Consultants . Edge Brown and Smith have reportedly conducted captive meetings under the guise of education sessions, which caution them against the alleged dangers of unionization. . . Your employees have a right to unionize, but you also have a right to educate them about potential dangers and negative effects of labor union representation. 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). . 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. Cemex quickly hired a "union avoidance" firm that it would pay more than $1 million to try to dissuade workers from organizing. In 2018, Littler employed over 1000 attorneys in the United . 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. Advertisement. 8.Littler Mendelson, International Practice Group, available at https://www.littler.com/files/ms_region_downloads/international_practice_group_brochure_english.pdf. Training and Strategy This is a mail-in NLRB ballot that will end on March 29. Teamster Avoidance: Since leaving the Teamsters to join the ranks of its adversaries in 2007, Rebecca Smith has been involved in several anti-union campaigns against her former employer, as well as against multiple other unions in transportation, manufacturing, building trades and others. Our labor relations training for supervisors is conducted on site and is typically completed in just three hours. The United States is alone among rich democracies in allowing an enormous industry of law firms dedicated to defeating union organizing campaigns and keeping their clientsincluding many multinational corporations (MNCs)union free. For a complete list of our services please visit our services page. . Rebecca Smith: A second consultant working with Russ Brown at Amazon, Rebecca Smith, claims to have worked for unions 20 years, 16 years with the Teamsters, including as Executive Director of Training for Southern Nevada. Reassure the Board of Directors and Shareholders. Union avoidance cannot be done haphazardly, part-time, or after other "more pressing" matters are complete. They face highly motivated, well-resourced "union avoidance firms" that deploy any means possible to prevent workers from organizing. Union-avoidance specialists, and the employers that hire them, must disclose their arrangements to the Labor Department. Cemex managed to narrowly defeat the union in a March 2019 election, but not without traipsing all over the law and illegally firing a female driver who had been organizing her co-workers, according to trial testimony. 14.Global Legal Group, The International Comparative Guide to Employment & Labor Law, 11-12, available at https://www.hoganlovells.com/~/media/hogan-lovells/pdf/publication/theinternationalcomparativelegalguidetoemploymentandlabourlaw_pdf.pdf. As with the Amazon campaign, Rebecca Smiths anti-union work on these campaigns was conducted through Russ Browns Road Warrior Productions. Take our Union Vulnerability Assessment Quiz and find out if your company is susceptible to union organizing. The biggest being that the quickie elections leave little to no time for strong, effective anti union campaigns. Sources. CHICAGO. Having worked with both union and nonunion companies over the past 30 years, our labor and employment consulting firm . 2.Michael Fichter and Dimitris Stevis, Global Framework Agreements in a Union-Hostile Environment: The Case of the USA, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, November 2013, available at https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/10377.pdf. These firms often provide so-called union vulnerability assessments, which are usually based . February 26, 2023. At ANHS, we know unions. © 1998-Present LAWCHA. Union avoidance is a method companies use to keep unions out of their establishments. According to its annual reviews, cross-border trade union actions including corporate union campaigns are one of the alliances main areas of expertise.5 Formed in 2013, Fisher Phillips International Employment Practice Group has established strong relationships with local counsel on six continents. The International Practice Group helps its multinational clients address international labor issues involving unions around the world.6, Union avoidance firms have sought to counteract the unions use of international standards to advance organizing, warning that corporations must own the debate on global labor standards or the unions will define it for you.7 Littler attorneys have helped MNCs formulate and implement strategies to respond to efforts by labor unions . : 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. . Contact us for a free consultation! 12. Human Rights Watch has criticized captive meetings as a form of legal intimidation, which are unlawful in many developed democracies. 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. In more recent campaigns, the firm has offered employers a 50% refund in its fees if the union wins[iii] One could not invent better examples to illustrate that, under the current union certification process, the employer and not the employees gets to decide on whether a workplace becomes unionized. During the winter, The Hershey's Company hired six union-avoidance firms to block organizing efforts at its chocolate factory in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. You might hear your bosses call this "union avoidance," but it basically just means "Union busting, in a suit." Three: Delay, delay, delay When addressed early, organizing is avoidable. We can provide a strategic response to labor union organization efforts, ensuring your work place stays union free and your business or organization is protected. At the completion of the employee relations assessment process, Hutchison Group will carefully analyze the employee inputs derived from each session and provide the company with a comprehensive report regarding our findings, along with specific recommendations for employee relations improvements. It is extremely important to stay ahead of the tide in order protect your Union-Free Privilege. 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. After all, you cant lose a union election that doesnt happen. The federal PRO Act, which passed the House this month, would prohibit captive audience meetings. 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