Study describes 'coercive climate' against workers

 

The results detail legal and illegal tactics used by employers in NLRB representational elections and the ineffectiveness of current labor law.

Forming a union isn't easy.

"Every time a worker wants to have a little dignity or more fairness, or even just mentions the word ‘union' at work, the company starts their anti-worker campaign," said Cindy Estrada, director of the UAW National Organizing Department.

"The playing field is far from level. As long as all the power is in hands of the companies, it will continue to be a very difficult struggle to organize a union, but it's a struggle that's worth it.

"That's why we believe it is essential that workers have the power to decide their fate, not leave their fate up to companies," she added.

This is no surprise to Cornell University professor Kate Brofenbrenner, a leading authority on successful strategies in union organizing.

Brofenbrenner, who has won several awards for her research on workers and labor organizations, directs Labor Education Research at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

In May she released a study titled "No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing." The results reinforced what most of us in the labor movement already know: When it comes to forming their own union, workers are behind the eight ball.

The study showed that of the 1,004 union organizing drives examined, employers threatened to close plants in 57 percent of the drives and threatened to cut wages in 47 percent of them.

In addition, it showed that in just over one-third of the successful organizing campaigns, workers were unable to get a first contract.

"This study is a comprehensive analysis of employer behavior in representation elections supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)," Brofenbrenner wrote.

"… The results provide a detailed and well-documented portrait of the legal and illegal tactics used by employers in NLRB representational elections and of the ineffectiveness of the current labor law policy to protect and enforce workers' rights in the election process."

Brofenbrenner concluded that workers' "aspirations for representation are being thwarted by a coercive and primitive climate for organizing that goes unrestrained due to a fundamentally flawed regulatory regime."

A recent Gallup Poll showed a majority of Americans favor reforms to make it easier for workers to organize unions.

Changing the law to provide workers with a more effective means of controlling their destiny is exactly what the Employee Free Choice Act is all about. The bill has majority support in both houses of Congress, and President Obama has indicated he would sign it into law.

Senate Democrats remain committed to bringing the Employee Free Choice Act to a vote, and the bill's sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is consulting with colleagues to build support for bringing a level playing field to the American workplace.

As debate continues, it's critical that UAW members and retirees keep the pressure on their own members of Congress.

For more information, visit the Employee Free Choice Act section of www.uaw.org.