Taking Advantage of Exposed Pressure Points

For those who have read Confessions before, you already know that I spent many years serving as an Organizing Director with the Teamsters and Steelworkers and have writtenabout how I was the conductor in an orchestra of chaos during campaigns. The campaigns that were the most fun (before I was on your side) were organizing workers in a hospital environment. There were so many sensitive pressure points that we would make jokes behind closed doors about how we would get hospital leadership to bow down to our demands. Read More “Organizing in Healthcare”

It Really Was This Easy

EMS companies are all very vulnerable to organization, because public opinion and perception of them is critical to their success and ridiculously easy to attack. Read More “Organizing Emergency Medical Services”

All of the tactics used to sway the employees to unionize were based on deception, but there were specific times in my career when that deception reached levels that weremost shocking.
Read More “Immigrant Workforce; An Easy Target”

As a Hispanic professional, I have been paying close attention to the mix of labor news and immigration news recently. I have realized that unions are making immigration reform part of their platform for “a better workforce” in America. Having worked as a union organizer early in my move to the U.S., I know exactly what the unions think about immigrant workers. To the union’s, immigrant workers are a “low hanging fruit” in their organizing efforts. They use immigration status as a tool to coerce and intimidate workers into signing cards.They may not do it directly (in some cases they do it directly, but this is not theirfirst choice), but they have become masters at using government agencies to do it for them indirectly. This tactic involves the sacrifice of many workers who are trying to support their families. Thisis why I am compelled to write this “Confession” of a real life incident that caused me to leave the union permanently. Read More “How Unions Indirectly Coerce Immigrant Workers Through The Federal Government”

Holding meetings was and always will be a essential task for a effective union organizer. For me these meetings were mandatory in order to be effective and a requirement for all the employees who wanted unions. They may not have known that the meetings were “required” initially, but learned quickly that it was easier to attend than to get a visit from my team. These meetings were my way of gathering the masses with one objection. My goal was to get them to sign a petition or check cards to organize. Read More “How An Organizer Gets Signatures”

Living’ it up at the Hotel, bringing their alibis and stabbing with their steely knives. Once unions are in, you can checkout, but they will never leave.

Unions historically had a difficult time organizing hotel- and associated service-workers, despite the fact that they are generally paid lower wages and work with higher demands than most other workers. They have a lower level of sophistication when it comes to fighting management without union assistance, but they comprise one of the most resourceful and ready-to-fight categories of non-unionized workers. Bad management have no one but themselves to blame in many situations as they have become complacent in their mistreatment of employees. The ample supply of low-skilled workers feed both of these issues as managers can quickly and easily replace any employee who even appears to be organizing. Read More “Hotel California”

The highly anticipated (and feared) changes to long-standing labor laws appear to finally be upon us. Read on to see why you need to ensure that you have an effective union avoidance strategy in place.
Read More “High-Energy, Quickie Elections Redux”

On April 30th, the National Labor Relations Board will announce the highly anticipated changes to current labor laws in place. For the last 50 years, the National Labor RelationsAct has remained virtually the same. This month will mark a historic day in labor law, and redefine how employers and employees will interactin the scope of Union presence. Read More “High-Energy, Quickie Elections”

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Is the union paying employees to partake in the internal Union Organizing Committee?

Why are they so angry and passionately against our company?

While working with management teams in efforts to educate employees on the realities and dangers of union membership, I am often asked these two questions. My response to them is that if the union needed to pay the organizing committee to organize, they had no chance in winning the election.

One of the major reasons employees seek unions is because they don’t feel they have any ownership or a real say in their workplace.
Read More “Gauging Potential Success:”

In attempt to replenish declining membership, the AFL/CIO, SEIU and other traditional unions have begun partnering with so-called ‘alt-labor’ worker centers to target restaurant workers and other traditionally non-organized employees. Readon to find insight into how the recent fast food strikes are part of the unions’ tactics to work with these groups to attack and destabilize small business franchisees in order to grow membership. Read More “Fast Food Heaven for Labor Unions”