Campaign Strategy

BarbieW

We have a union organizing campaign getting started and a couple of employees are really at the center of the campaign. They are using company email for this purpose. Can we discipline them for using the email this way? How about for talking to other employees about it on company time? Why should the company have to pay for the time they spend causing trouble? Also, we have another union representing employees in another department--can we work this out so there is only one union?

regdunlop

i am not a expert on unions but one of the questions i think you have to ask is how your company treats other employees who use company time and equipment for purposes other than work.  do you discipline employees that send e-mails to each other about sports or other non work related stuff? if you treat employees differently simply because they are talking about forming a union, i think you could run into trouble. you may also want to check with the National Labor Relations Board because i remmeber reading that it was going to decide a case on this topic.

lesley1947

Get a labor attorney who specializes in union organizing IMMEDIATELY!!   If this is your first experience with organizing attempts, you can easily make serious mistakes that might cause you to be unionized without even having a vote.  This is a very, very complex part of HR - you need a specialist.  I have dealt with organizing attempts by the Steelworkers and UAW - it's not fun.  In the end, the company remained non-union but it was a very hard road.  I cannot stress enough that you need to get a lawyer - and a good one - they don't come cheap.   Good luck. 

IT HR

I agree with Lesley1947.  You NEED to get an attorney/expert on unions.  There are specific dos and don'ts on this subject, and you don't want to make a mistake that is going to be costly.  You will need to train all of your managers on these dos and don'ts as well.  You are going to have a long, hard fight.  Good luck.

TXHRGuy

[quote user="IT HR"]I agree with Lesley1947.  You NEED to get an attorney/expert on unions.  There are specific dos and don'ts on this subject, and you don't want to make a mistake that is going to be costly.  You will need to train all of your managers on these dos and don'ts as well.  You are going to have a long, hard fight.  Good luck.[/quote]

Ditto.  There are a lot of ways that you can mess up in a legal sense.  Especially if you have never been through this before or have a significant body of labor specific training.

The short story is that all your employees who are not managers under the Wagner act can engage in "concerted protected activity"  Concerted means 2 or more.  Protected activity is a big place but the readers' digest version is that they can engage in activity for their mutual benefit or protection.  Specifically in regards to your question, there are two sides to it assuming you have an electronic communications policy or network usage policy or something that covers personal emails.  First, if you have such a policy but don't really take steps to police it, then you would clearly be singling out union activity and that's a no-no.  Second, the harder you try to fight unionionizing activity, the easier it is for the organizing committee to characterize the relationship as "us versus them".  You need to pick your fights carefully.  It's contect sensitive and you need an expert there with boots on the ground who can understand your company and its history and see and feel the environment, but some companies actually put up a bulletin board to permit organizing communication, promoting the view that the Company doesn't think the majority of employees want or "need" a union.  It also has the effect allowing the employer access to a lot of communication.  Wherever you land on the spectrum, think about it this way: if they can't use email, they'll use leaflets and talk around the water cooler and the coffee pot.  They're going to talk about this and the Company can't affectively prevent that.  Will coming down on email users/abusers help or hinder your cause?

mountainfiest

Hi. I would be very careful in preventing this kind of communication.  I would personally be concerned with being accused on an unfair labor practice.  The union organizers could accuse you of interfering with a protected concerted activity ....  even though it's during work hours and disruptive.  I know it's frustrating, but if you're viewed as threatening, intimidating or spying, an unfair labor charge will take a lot of time and money to get rid of.  I have some anti-organizing letters that I would be willing to share with you that are legal and helpful during an anti-organizing campaign.  Good luck!  You're in for some long days.   

srallen

It depends on company policy.  We have a specific policy against utilizing company e-mail for personal use.  Also, utilizing company working time for union organizing is against policy.  If you have such policy, then follow it.  If you don't have such policies in place, then tread lightly.  I would seek legal council for advise if you don't have policy in place.