Does Craig Becker, who recently received a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), have any conflict of interests in ruling on labor issues? Many say...YES. Mr. Becker is labor attorney who has worked for the SEIU and the AFL-CIO. As a new member of the board, he is expected to refrain from participating on issues that his former clients or employer may be directly involved. By most legal standards, failure to do this is a conflict of interest.

Mr. Becker's recess appointment expires at the end of 2011. Until then, he has free reign to rule on issues he personally worked on for his clients. Will he recuse himself from those issues? If he truly has a sense of right and justice, he will. As a bonafide NLRB appointee, he is free to rule on those issues where he has no conflict, and he should. But he should honor the current administration's pledge to have all appointees refrain from ruling on issues on which they worked in the private sector in the two years prior to their appointment.

Mr. Becker has some very strong views on card check. These views, in most cases, completely ignore any issues related to employer concerns or rights in the workplace. In some cases his concerns also ignore employee rights, particularly if the employees desire to not have a union. Everyone impacted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) should watch Mr. Becker's actions. His views could end up having a major impact on your daily operations before the end of this year.

Negative media, shaming the target, political pressure... all are part of an activity known as the "Corporate Campaign." Corporate Campaigns are a tool used by organized labor to try to force employers to submit to their agenda. Typically their agenda is organizing the targeted employer's workforce. Why is this important to know? In 2011, there will be an increase in these actions.

Which unions will undertake significant Corporate Campaigns? The UAW will push hard as it goes after transnational automakers and parts suppliers. The UFCW will increase its efforts against Wal-Mart and other major grocery retailers. The SEIU and CNA/NNOC will target more major healthcare organization especially Catholic Healthcare and large public sector institutions. All major drugstore chain retailers can expect to be a target of the UFCW and SEIU as well. On the public side, AFGE will certainly be a presence in the Transportation Security Administration organizing arena.

Will the pressure tactics work for the unions? In the public sector, they will until or unless tax payers revolt. In the private sector, it will depend on the employer.  Many employers are strong willed with great business plans but are not necessarily prepared for the political actions related to responding to a corporate campaign. Those employers should seek assistance. Those employers ready to engage in a knockdown, drag out political brawl... should be able to hold their own!

Keep an eye open. These union efforts are about to become more public as we enter the second quarter of 2011. If you want more information on Corporate Campaigns, please email us info@oliverbell.com.

Are you using social media? Unions are! Unions are very active in seeking different means to organize. Social networking is a growing phenomenon. The savvy are jumping on board. According to the AFL-CIO Blog, on February 13^th there will be a unique training conference. The Blog states "Organizing 2.0 is an annual training conference in New York City for union movement organizers and social justice activists. It's set for Feb. 13^th at the City University of New York (CUNY) Murphy Institute." Organizing 2.0 co-founders are Charles Lenchner and Elana Levin.  Ms. Levin is also the Director of Communications for the Writers Guild of America, East.

The conference has a simple purpose - to take organizations with (a) no background in online tools, (b) limited background in online tools and (c) those that are proficient and help them improve the use of technology. They teach organized labor professionals how they can use technology to better help unions organize specific workplaces. This is a smart effort led by bright people. We had predicted it would begin several years sooner, but it is here now. Key leaders in business organizations should be aware of these labor activities and the potential impact on your organization.

Side note: For the past 2 weeks we have all witnessed the political unrest in Egypt. Those activities are being coordinated in part by social networking. The unrest is a form of community organizing. The outcome remains to be seen. The use of social media as an organizing tool should not be discounted by employers. As a matter of fact, employers should consider ways they might use social media to more effectively communicate with their workforce, energize the workforce around key goals, and counter union organizing, if appropriate.

If you would like more information, please email info@oliverbell.com 

U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) has introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA). He was joined by 17 co-sponsors. This legislation is designed to guarantee the right of all workers to have a secret ballot election if a union is seeking to represent employees in the workplace. It would end card check recognition of unions absent an employee vote. Why is this important?

As many of you know, organized labor has communicated a strong desire to circumvent the election process completely. That was the purpose of the now dead Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) legislation. The proposed EFCA legislation eliminated elections and only required employee signatures for a union to be authorized as the employee agent. The EFCA recognition concept is problematic because it is unprecedented in how it designates representation. It is coercive in design and application. Just think... if all it took to make something a law in your city or have a community representative was the signature of a select group of individuals versus the opportunity for all in a group to vote. What kind of laws or representative might we have? If there was no discussion or communications campaign regarding the benefits and consequences of certain choices to educate those involved, could they make an informed choice? If special interests are a problem now, imagine how they might really dominate and further control the environment if they only had to strong arm signatures out of people. It would nightmarish!

The Secret Ballot Protection Act ensures every worker gets the opportunity (if they desire) to cast a secret ballot without pressure or fear of retribution from union organizers, employers, or coworkers. No one is looking over their shoulder. No member of the workforce should be forced to join union or pay union dues as a condition of employment without having the opportunity to vote on the situation.

Is SBPA better than card check recognition? By definition, it should be. The advantage of the ballot box is that no one, not your employer, not the union, not even your co-worker knows how you vote unless you tell them. However, the question remains should employers have the right to recognize a union? Personally, I have no issue with employers recognizing a union if that is their business decision. But, I do think that if a significant number of employees disagree with the employer about union recognition and the conditions that could be imposed on the employees as a result, then there should be an opportunity to vote to determine the ultimate status. If the union wins ... so be it. If they lose... no union!

Background

The date was January 27^th.  The site is Ohio. The event is representation elections at 12+ hospitals and long term care facilities. The union is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The employer is Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP). About 6,500 employees were eligible to vote...

Outcome 

Employees in 38 of 43 professional and non-professional bargaining units rejected SEIU representation. Only four bargaining units voted in favor of SEIU representation. 1 voting unit was tied with 1 challenge ballot to determine the outcome. In cases where the vote is tied, the union loses. A union must obtain a majority of the valid votes cast to win. In this case, if the challenged vote is a no vote or is unresolved, the "tied unit" will be added to the no union tally.

CHP and SEIU essentially operated under a neutrality agreement. The parties agreed not to campaign against each other. The actual election was many years in the making and involved contentious issues between the employer and multiple unions. Clearly CHP leadership had a positive message and more importantly good relations with employees; or they would not have been successful. But it was not a second rate effort by the union. The SEIU is an organizing giant and better than most unions. The fact that they fell short indicates that they will back and they will revamp their approach. They were involved in this campaign effort for quite some time and if they stay true to form, they are unlikely to walk away. They will hover and wait for a new opportunity.

If there is a potential lesson for other employers to take away... do right by your employees. And when you think you're doing right by them... get some feedback to make sure they agree. Positive employee relations carry the day almost all the time. Don't lose sight of that fact.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow limited collective bargaining rights for transportation security officers. This is a huge win for the labor unions that have been lobbying for this namely, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). These two unions have been in a head to head competition to be the primary union for TSA staffers. The proposed election will take place in March/April 2011.

What's the prize... 50,000 employees working at airport security screening locations. This is currently the largest single organizing effort in the country. Success for either union will mark the continued trend of increases in union membership for public sector employees while private sector employees continue to turn away from unions for now. However, I would expect this drive to give private sector organizing a boost as related unions look for gains of their own.

We hear many stories about work conditions for TSA employees, training needed, etc. TSA is also ranked at or near the bottom best places to work in the federal government. I am not sure how unionization will benefit them. It really sounds like the leadership of the organization needs to sit down with the employees, conduct focus groups, identify issues and agree to resolve them. Unionization, in this case, seems to actually be both a government giveaway and a management cop out. However, if this is the only way employees can get management's attention, maybe it is justified... more power to them.

The take way for union-free employers in the public or private sector is to listen to your employees, identify their concerns, address those that make business sense, explain those you can't address and drive on. Contrary to popular belief, all employees are represented in the workplace. Their representative is their supervisor. Do your supervisors know this? Are you and your supervisors taking care of business? Let's hope so.

On Thursday, February 3^rd, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced its plan to organize all fleet service workers at United Airlines. United is the largest domestic airline after its merger with Continental.

Last February, about 7,500 fleet service workers at Continental voted for IBT representation. They recently approved their first contract. Now the Teamsters will pursue the legacy United ramp workers. Some of those workers are currently represented by the International Association of Machinist (IAM). There will likely be conflict at United as the IBT and IAM fight over turf. We' see which union prevails or if those union-free employees continue without either union.

For the past two years, there has been a feud between two California based unions, the Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and the offshoot National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The NUHW is a splinter group that broke away from the SEIU-UHW. The NUHW has been trying to displace the SEIU at a number of employers including Catholic Healthcare West (CHW).

According to SEIU sources, NUHW officials failed to secure the minimum number of signatures required to file decertification petition that would have challenged the SEIU for the right to represent employees. It could also have resulted in some facilities becoming union-free via the decertification vote in a 28-hospital, 14,000-member CHW health system. The NUHW had claimed they could win at CHW, but apparently, they lack the ability to get the required 30% of the current Collective Bargaining Unit to sign a decertification petition.

The SEIU has not only successful retained representation of California based CHW employees, they have also successfully pushed back NUHW at Kaiser Permanente and at a number of medical facilities in northern California. According to an SEIU press release, NUHW withdrew from union elections at Covenant, Evergreen, and GranCare nursing homes as well as at Daughters of Charity's Seton, Seton Coast Side Medical Centers and at Sutter Solano Medical Center. Further, last month in an NLRB sanctioned election, employees at Sutter Alta Bates Medical Center voted to keep the SEIU-UHW.

The NUHW is a former SEIU group that was removed from office for allegedly misusing millions of members' dues money. It has been trying to unseat the SEIU for over two years. It would seem that this effort is at an end for now, and the SIU has prevailed. The end of this feud should temporarily increase labor peace and stability at all employers involved.

It's official. Employees in classifications such as emergency room technicians, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians and many others, at the St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon voted to be represented by Service Employees International Union Local 49 last month. The unit is has about 600 employees. The vote was very close with the union leading by 4 (255 YES -251 NO) and 34 challenge ballots after the initial vote count. The challenge ballots were determinative. When the challenges were resolved, the union prevailed.