If you’re one of these folks, consider unionizing. The best time to become an organizer is when you have one foot out the door. If you win, you get a union job. If you’re illegally fired, you get a nice payout and a new job. I’m an experienced union organizer with lots of connections, I’m willing to help folks find resources.
Sure thing! The NLRB is a fantastic source, but only covers national labor rights. You’ll want to look up your state’s department of labor for local labor laws. CODE-CWA is the group I organized with, they specialize in the tech industry and offer free training each weekend; I know several of the top organizers in CODE, you’ll be in good hands. Dr Richard Wolff’s program Democracy@Work is a great general news source with a heavy emphasis on worker power and the broader economy. If there’s anything more specific you’d like, I can definitely provide those too!
I appreciate having the reference for the NLRB. The right to discuss wages was a good thing to read and a good thing to remember.
So, the company I work for is based in multiple states, and I work in multiple states as well. What should I reference in relation to the local labor laws?
There’s also no unions for this job (yet), and I feel like it might be very difficult to start because of how new/niche it is. I’m questioning if there is even enough people to warrant starting a union, and where to begin with the research. Would a union be able to cover all employees of a certain job type, regardless of which company they work for specifically? If that was the case, then the labor pool would be slightly bigger.
I’d love to see some of your thoughts against the hopelessness. One of the things I hear about a lot is how companies are good at union-busting. What’re some of the suggestions you have in general on overcoming that?
It’s understandable that people are afraid of union busting. Having been there myself, it feels like you’re David going up against Goliath when you start out, and that’s ok! You have to remember that they want you afraid, because if you’re afraid then you can be manipulated by the company. The type of union busting people are most afraid of, namely workplace closure and firing organizers, is rare and illegal. Illegal union busting is also not very successful once challenged with the NLRB, they see through most of the lies.
Companies are good at union busting because every single thing the company will do in opposing your union is going to be framed as being “neutral” while every single sentence is going to be about why unions are “scary”. You have to prepare yourself and your coworkers for the boss’ campaign with inoculation, and that’s where CWA’s union busting playbook will be helpful.
I live in Minnesota so I never had the chance to shut down a captive audience meeting (they’re illegal here), but the best way to shut it down is to get confrontational. Here’s some of my favorite questions for union busters
- Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said that union organizers are doing the Lord’s work. Are you saying that he’s wrong?
- So what you’re saying is that you, a contracted management consultant, were hired as an outsider to tell us that unions are a 3rd party?
- How much is the company paying you for reading this script to us?
- Wouldn’t the company be better served raising our wages and benefits rather than wasting money to tell us their opinions?