About Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants
PSLC Executive Summary
Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, Inc. (PSLC) is an international labor relations and human resource consulting firm specializing in maintaining an union free work environment.
We achieve our high results by directly educating and communicating with employees during union campaigns and by acting proactively with enhanced positive managerial corporate education and the promotion of positive relationships between management teams and the company’s workforce.
This is accomplished by utilizing former high-ranking union officials, organizers, and senior level human resource executives within the PSLC response team.
Our Key Services
Opened For Business
2001
Union Campaign Win
Record on Full Campaigns in the U.S.
99
%+
Number of Engagements
2,000
+
Key Personnel
What Others Say!
It is with great pleasure that I share my experiences with Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants. I first met Ricardo Torres in 2008 and hired his company to train my company’s supervisors. Ricardo and his team certainly did a good job in covering the obvious elements of how the NLRB interprets the National Labor Relations Act and the rules that apply during an organizing campaign. Of far more value, however, was the training that the PSLC team provided in how to build a positive employee relations environment such that employees feel no need for third party intervention. Ricardo and his consultants are experts in this area and shared best practices that any business can implement. In 2013, I hired PSLC again to train our Senior Leadership. The challenge this time was a little different. We wanted them to simulate what an organizing campaign can look like on the floor. After a day of meeting with some of our key leaders discussing the workforce challenges we face, Ricardo and his team were able to train our Senior Leadership in the key actions they can take to discourage employees from turning to a union. In a realistic way, we role-played the tactics that organizers use, which allowed our team insight into how to better shape our communication efforts. Throughout both engagements, the PSLC Team was very easy to engage and deploy as a strategic partner. I highly recommend PSLC to any company looking to strengthen their relationship with their workforce or train their management to build a positive environment where employees feel no need to form a union.
-C.A. Human Resources Director for a Government Arms Contractor
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Permanent Solutions in the Rochester area. Just to give you an idea of the type of outfit this is, allow me to give you a little background on the company. The founder and CEO’s name is Ricardo Torres. He began his career as a union organizer and ended up as a high-ranking official with the Teamsters and later for the Steelworkers. He brags about his “inside knowledge” of how unions think and operate, and claims that he founded Permanent Solutions after leaving unions due to his experience of the “unethical world that unions created.” He worked within labor unions between 1978 and 2001….he certainly didn’t seem to mind taking the salary paid for by the sweat off of union members’ backs for 23 years, did he? The website continues to spell out the services they offer to employers: training, consulting and public speaking seminars, spilling the secret inside details of the “Big Labor Machine.” Torres uses his 23 years working with Labor to promote his scab operation, helping Fortune 500 businesses destroy organizing attempts.
-SEIU Local 200United
The PSLC Team was able to establish control of our union campaign by the end of the first day on the job site. We are a large logistics company and have been targeted by the union over the past few years. They had managed to persuade over 80% of our employees to support a petition to join a union. By the time the vote for representation came around, 80% of the employees supported the company. The PSLC team of consultants impressed me because they did not resort to “dirty” tactics. They were professional and thorough. They were able to use facts about the union against them and use their real world experiences to help the employees understand what they were about to get themselves into. The other thing that impressed me so much about PSLC was that by the time they left, we were running our operations in a manner that allowed for successful collaborative efforts with employee involvement. This was 3 years ago. Today, our turnover is negligible and our employees come to work with smiles on their faces every day. We still use PSLC to perform annual union avoidance and employee engagement training for our management team. It is an investment well spent.
-M.U. Senior Vice President for a Michigan-Based Logistics Company
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, Inc. If you are headed into an organizing effort, you need them on your team. As the Board Chair of a $38M not for profit agency dedicated to serving people with developmental disabilities, we understood all too well what it meant should an organizing effort be successful. It would undermine our ability to work with our staff, it would change the culture of our organization, and it would jeopardize the services we provide. So we partnered with PSLC in an effort to defeat the organizing effort. And we were successful. Rick and his staff become a part of your team. They stand with you at every juncture of the process. They are there to help with all of the communications with the staff, they help to formulate the messages that are delivered, and they make sure that you have whatever advantages are possible. The understand the tactics of the union and help to establish counterarguments to each and every inaccurate point brought up by the union. But most importantly, they are there 24/7. Whether it was early morning meetings with staff, one on one meetings with the overnight crew, or dealing with the media, they are right next to you helping to guide you toward the outcome you want/need…a defeat of the organizing movement. I fully recommend working with Rick and the PSLC team. It is a wise and prudent investment for the health, safety, and financial viability of your organization. You cannot, and should not, go into battle without them. As the Board Chair of a $38M not for profit agency dedicated to serving people with developmental disabilities, we understood all too well what it meant should an organizing effort be successful. It would undermine our ability to work with our staff, it would change the culture of our organization, and it would jeopardize the services we provide. So we partnered with PSLC in an effort to defeat the organizing effort. And we were successful.
-Brian Sampson, Board Chair, Arc of Monroe County, Rochester, NY
Permanent Solutions Labor Consultant's EVP, Bob Carroll is one of the leaders for the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber's HR Roundtable and does a fantastic job leading the group. Bob is knowledgeable on a wide range of HR topics. His presentations are engaging and informative. Bob is able to simplify complex HR issues that make everything easy to understand. I highly recommend working with Bob and the PSLC team.
-J.P. – VP of Membership Services at Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce
I have had the privilege to work with Rick for years in a variety of industries and settings. Rick's significant knowledge and experience in labor, personnel dynamics and assessing managerial and corporate vulnerabilities is without peer. Rick's extensive background in labor and his years as a management strategist affords him the ability to quickly and effectively identify and communicate difficult and complex concepts in a manner that is appreciated and understood. I have seen Rick's hard work and knowledge implemented and ultimately instrumental in numerous successful labor campaigns. In addition, Rick is constantly researching trends, technology, and emerging applications to meet the needs of management and the fluid nature of the work force. Through his skill and knowledge, I have seen Rick develop robust communication systems between managers and employees that had been completely broken down or had never been established. I would recommend Rick for anyone who needs a skilled and experienced professional to assist them with labor issues, a labor campaign, or employee and operational communication assessment.
-CH – Labor and Employment Attorney – Detroit Metro Area
Rick has consulted with my clients numerous times. I can say many positive things about him, but what stands above the rest is that he is a great communicator (which includes being a great listener). Rick has the gift of connecting with everyone in an organization - from the newest/most junior employee to the CEO - to learn what is important to them and help bring them together. His level of emotional intelligence is off the chart. He is also very hard-working and passionate about what he does, his clients, and his family. From a labor lawyer’s perspective, I always appreciate that he has an excellent knowledge of labor law and that he always wants to work ethically and within the law. And finally, he is a really fun guy with whom to work.
-R.J.S. – Employment and Labor Attorney – Omaha, Nebraska
TRUST. The most important resource a company experiencing a union organizing drive needs is trust. Trust in and from its employees, trust in and from its management team and supervision, and trust in its labor lawyer team. And, trust of the team it selects to run the counter-campaign. Any company that turns to Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants to help respond to a union drive is investing in that trust relationship. The company will be working with a team that it can trust and which has the necessary experience to win. It will be working with an experienced, committed team which will put in the time and energy to assist the company in regaining employee trust and secure a positive election outcome. When a client of mine is facing a union drive, my first call goes to PSLC.
-DS – Traditional Labor Attorney, Detroit Metro Area
Several years ago I attended an HR presentation that Rick was the main speaker. I was so impressed by his knowledge that when I was in a situation where I needed his expertise we hired his company to consult with our leadership team. Rick was such a wonderful source of information and a great business partner. He was so easy to work with and knew exactly what we needed when we needed it. I will never forget my experience with Rick and his staff, and would never hesitate to call on him again
-KJ – Human Resource Leader and Consultant
Current Labor News
Unionization’s Impact on Productivity and Profit | Ricardo Torres posted on the topic
There are many important reasons companies oppose union organizing campaigns, including increases in operating cost, they also have an impact on productivity and productivity growth.
Studies have shown negative impacts of unionization on both output per hour and on productivity growth. The Clark Institute found productivity losses between 3.0 and 4.0 percent based on an analysis of company level data for 902 manufacturing businesses over a twenty-year period.
The Hirsch group (2004) found negative total productivity effects of 2.0 to 4.4 percent depending on the union density in the company, the lower end of 2.0 percent productivity loss estimated by the Hirsch group for a company with only 10% union density would reduce profits by 19.8 percent. Even small production losses can have a major impact on a company’s financial performance. In ten years, the unionized company’s profit per labor hour will be 23.6 percent less than the non-union company before accounting for the effects of compensation cost premiums or initial productivity differences.
The cumulative effects of slower productivity growth on top of the initial differences in compensation result after 10 years in the unionized company, significantly lagging the non-union competitor in profit by 37.4 percent.
The Council on Union-Free Environment study of reviewing the actual case analysis of confidential companies determined a higher liability of 30%-40%. Unionization of an employee making $10/hr., the cost would increase $8290/yr.
It also creates an erosion of management flexibility and control, collective bargaining agreements transfer significant decision-making authority away from management, reducing the speed at which a company can adapt to market changes. Disciplinary action, becomes a multi-step process subject to grievance procedures and arbitration, replacing managerial judgment with a formalized, legalistic process.
A company’s ability to implement new technologies or restructure job duties is diminished, requiring mandatory negotiation before changes take effect. This process causes delays that can span months or years, disadvantaging the unionized company.
Given these reasons and more, it doesn’t make sense that many companies don’t put more emphasis on staying union free before union activity ever takes place, the initial goal of a union organizer is to find weaknesses in the management structure and leverage it against the company.
First, management needs to treat workers fairly, and I cannot emphasize enough for management teams to build trust, mutual respect and open communication, to utilize emotional intelligence to win over employee’s trust and engrain them in the solution to the labor crisis/union campaign or high turnover problems, getting to this level of understanding and motivating through emotional intelligence requires the opening of your senses, by talking less and listening more.
Read the full article at: www.linkedin.com
Overwhelming Majority of Wyoming Wells Fargo Bank Branch Employees Back Petition for Vote to Remove CWA Union Bosses | Ricardo Torres
Interesting events are happening in the banking industry, Wells Fargo has had a lot of union activity, several units have filed for a decertification vote with mixed results. According to the Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA web site there is no ratified contracts signed yet, the first union contract negotiations started in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 5, 2024, with Wells Fargo management, there are 22 union branches across 14 states that organized, the union is seeking a national contract.
While some credit unions have unionized workforces, unionization at banks has been rare until recently.
The US banking industry was once a very hard target that unions avoided, Beneficial State Bank, serving California, Oregon, and Washington, was the first US bank organized in 2020 was the first bank unionized in 40 years, Beneficial State Bank voluntarily recognized the Communication Workers of America after over 100 of its employees across 13 locations demonstrated majority support for the CWA in three states
Continuing the trend, in January 2022, employees at Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union in Rochester, NY unionized. Employees unionized and In January 2023, Lake Michigan Credit Union workers also successfully unionized the Wyoming, Michigan location.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 1.1% of workers in the banking and finance industry are unionized. A 2013 study, it was commissioned by the Committee for Better Banks, a New York based group advocating for the rights of banking and finance employees stated on their site that “mass layoffs, high turnover, lagging pay and benefits, and a lack of transparency as the driving factors spurring banking and finance employees’ interest in unionization, and those concerns have only increased in recent years”. The Committee for Better Banks is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) union and is part of their strategy to increase their organizing attempts.
Companies no longer have the luxury to ignore union activity, well trained supervision who understands union tactics and how to spot union activity along with a comprehensive communication policy are vital to maintaining a productive union free environment.
https://pslabor.com/
Read the full article at: www.linkedin.com
United Farm Workers union cancels Cesar Chavez events over abuse allegations | Ricardo Torres
I was saddened and very surprised to read the allegations that Cesar Chaves sexually assaulted multiple women when they were teenagers participating in the labor rights movement.
Labor movement Icon Dolores Huerta who was one of the co-founders of the National Farm Workers Association, now known as the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Chaves, she also alleged that Chavez raped her in 1966, according to reports. She claimed Chavez fathered two of her children, who were raised by others after Huerta hid both pregnancies.
When I was a union official, I had the opportunity several times to sit down and discuss her role in forming the UFW and the obstacles they faced during that time.
Cesars brother, Richard Chavez is credited with building the UFW into a major California agricultural and political organization, when I was a national organizing director I had an alliance with the farm workers and I got to know Richard Chaves very well and even had him headline big regional organizing events when a large Latino population were involved, he talked at length about his older brother and gave me an historic view of the organization and the people involved.
Now some are calling for Huerta’s name to replace Chavez’s on the plethora of government buildings, schools, monuments and streets that bear his name across the country.
With so many unions covering up their corrupt behavior it was refreshing to read that the UFW canceled participation in celebrations of Cesar Chavez amid these “troubling allegations”
Read the full article at: www.linkedin.com
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