This webinar reviews new developments in 2022 in labor relations.

1. UNION ORGANIZING TACTICS & CAMPAIGNS 2022

2. UNIONS ARE BIG
BUSINESS!
BUSINESSES NEED
$$$ (DUES, FEES,
FINES, ETC.) TO
STAY IN BUSINESS

3. Unions are winning
 Unions won approximately 85% of the NLRB Elections that were held in this year in
2021, with an increasing rate of petitions across the industries filed
 The New NLRB Election rules dictate a max of 21 to 25 days from the date of filing
until the election day
 Employers have very little time to react
 In addition, most elections have been mail in ballot and unions have won the clear
majority of these
 In calendar year 2021 there have been nearly 150 more election petitions filed than
calendar year 2020.
 40 million workers quit. 100,000+ on strike. 550+ new unions. “2021 was the year of
the worker.”
 Using protests as a means to gather intel and information
 WHO ARE WE AT LABOR ADVISORS?

4. Unions are winning
There were just 80 Union certification elections filed in Jan 2021. There
have now been 162 filed in Jan 2022
There were 127 voluntary recognitions filed, covering at least 9,337
workers. for comparison, in 2021, there were 641 new units created
through an NLRB election process. those units covered approximately
30,775 workers
“As the majority that makes society run, the working class has enormous
potential power of its own under capitalism.”
Psychological effects of a rally – “In this rally, the crowd is standing behind
the speaker, sending a message of unity. Everyone has an important role; it
matters that you showed up. People feel more powerful during the event
and afterwards. This position visually conveys the message that our power
comes from numbers.”

5. Architects Organizing

6. Coffee/ Fast Food

7. Employers
Give In to
Public
Pressure

8. Demanding
Recognition

9. Starbucks
Pressure
Campaign

10. Starbucks
Pressure
Campaign

11. Games & Pizza

12. Communications Workers of America (CWA)
• Voluntary Recognition at Vodeo Games and becoming North America's first
video game workers union
• MARKED BY WALKOUTS, strikes, petitions, and open letters, 2021
has been the biggest year yet for workers in the US video game
industry taking a stand against labor conditions. Over the last
year, a vocal contingent of video game workers has warned
employers that they won’t tolerate subpar labor conditions just to
fulfill their childhood dream of making video games.
• “In my experience, it actually isn't suffering that drives people to
take the risk and organize,” says Tom Smith, senior director of
organizing for the Communications Workers of America, the
country's largest communications and media union. “It’s hope. I
think this is a moment in history in which both things are out
there. We will be going after all video game companies.”

13. “The CDC says you should organize a union because
neither your bosses nor the government will ever
look out for your wellbeing.”

14. More Union Campaigns and Wins
• Comic Book Workers United won their union election, making Image
Comics the FIRST unionized comic book publisher in the United States
(Jan 6, 2022)
• Google Fiber workers in Kansas City make a bid to unionize this week
• Red Lobster staff say they work when they're ill because of a lack of paid
sick leave and pressure from managers

15. Using Company Logos

16. NYC Sparks Stripper’s Union in 2021
• When strippers in NYC went on strike last November, no one could have predicted the ripple effect it would have on the stripping
community internationally. With the support of major names in the industry such as Jacqueline Frances and Gizelle Marie, the
movement quickly gained traction on Instagram, spreading it far beyond the NYC scene.
• At the core of the strike was a dispute between dancers and “bottle girls”— Instagram famous models/bartenders brought in by club
promoters—who were allegedly stealing money from dancers—and I don’t mean that figuratively. There have been hundreds of
videos posted to Instagram that show bottle girls swiping money off the stage while dancers are performing, leaving next to nothing
for the dancers.
• While the presence of this new breed of bartender is what sparked the strike, it is underpinned by something more insidious and far-
reaching — management not providing functional work environments for dancers. It’s these issues that can be felt universally in the
stripping community.

17. The Pro
Act
The PRO Act “expands various labor protections related to
employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the
workplace.” Practically, that means broadening the scope of
individuals covered by existing fair labor
standards and allowing unions to encourage their members
to support secondary strikes, those by employees
represented by other unions, without fear of reprisal from
employers.
The PRO Act would also end so-called right-to-work laws,
which prevent unions from requiring the employees they are
representing to pay dues for the cost of such representation.
It expands the legal definition of unfair labor practices
to protect workers who participate in strikes from retaliation
by their employees. It also prohibits employers from holding
captive audience meetings during which management works
hard to convince employees, who are required to be there,
to oppose efforts to unionize.

18. “Modernizing” Board
Procedures”
 Electronic Filing/Communications
 Parties may file documents, such as
petitions, electronically, rather than by
fax or mail. Parties and the NLRB’s
regional offices can transmit documents
electronically, rather than using slower or
more expensive forms of communications
such as mail or express delivery services.
 Election Voter List
 The employer must include available
personal email addresses and phone
numbers (cell and home if available) of
voters on the voter list in order to permit
non-employer parties to communicate
with prospective voters about the
upcoming elections. List to be provided
within two (2) business days (reduced
from seven (7) days). Currently, just
names and addresses are provided.

19. Harsher NLRB Remedies for ULP’s
Requiring an ER to reimburse a union for collective bargaining costs
because of bad faith bargaining
Requiring ER to mail and email notices to EE’s
Requiring management representative to read Board decision and
order aloud to employees in presence of NLRB Agent and Union BA.
Requiring NLRB Agent access to premises to inspect and confirm
compliance.
Requiring ER to pay NLRB’s litigation fees and costs, as well as, the
Union’s fees and costs.
Requiring ER to reimburse Union for legal fees (per diems) for
bargaining.

20. Social Media Matters

21. Social Media Matters
Active Monthly Users of the “Big 9”
So Many Union Organizing drives begin on social media. There are entire
card signings being done through Facebook and others. Employers need to
understand the impact of social media and how to stay ahead of what is
posted on company sites, as well as employee pages where applicable.

22. Facebook Cases Keep on Coming!!
 Pier Sixty, LLP (NLRB April 1, 2015)-
Employee discharged for posting on
Facebook the following comment about
his manager whose name was
McSweeney:
 “McSweeney is a NASTY MOTHER
F*#@#$ and a LOSER…F@#$ his
mother and his entire family…..vote
YES for the UNION.”
Termination was Reversed

23. BEWARE OF LIKES
 THREE D LLC d/b/a TRIPLE PLAY
SPORTS
 Former employee FB
post: owners can’t do tax
paperwork. “NOW, I OWE
money….WTF!”
 Current employee clicked
“like” button and was
terminated
 NLRB: post w as part of
“ongoing sequence” of
discussions- “like” was part of
protected, concerted activity
RE-TWEETS PROTECTED ARE
PROTECTED

24. Social Media Policy “Rules of Thumb”
CANNOT PROHIBIT CAN PROHIBIT
 “Disrespectful”
 “Inappropriate”
 “Disparaging”
 Statements “harming company reputation”
 Requiring advance permission from
employer
 “Friending” co-workers
 Non commercial use of logo
Disclaimer language: “This policy in not intended to
interfere with the exercise of your rights to engage in
protected concerted activity” – helpful but not a cure-all
 “Harassing”
 “Discriminatory”
 “Vulgar”
 “Threatening”
 “Intimidating”
 “Malicious”
 “Obscene”

25. National Labor Relations Act
Employees Complaining about Supervisors on Social Media
Key Issue: Is Social Media Activity CONCERTED?
Individuals Gripes – NOT Protected Actual/attempted group action – PROTECTED
Factors:
 Did the employee discuss the social media post with others?
 Were there employee meetings or any attempt to “initiate group action?”
 Did the employee seek to bring a group complaint to management’s attention?

26. The Changing
NLRB
A flyer posted to the
community where this
sandwich shop Jimmy
John’s was going
through a union drive

27. Jimmy John’s 361
NLRB No. 27
 The Board held that the posting and distribution by
employees of the posted was protected even if the
public-at-large could conceive it as prejudicial to
Jimmy John’s
 The Board rejected Jimmy John’s argument that the
poster was malicious and the employees who
circulated it were disloyal
 The Board based its rational on three (3) factors:
1. The poster was related to a labor dispute
2. The poster conveyed a basically thoughtful
account of the experience of employees under a
disputed practice or policy (sick days)
3. The poster was calculated to enlist the assistance
of the public in changing the disputed
policy/practice

28. The Changing NLRB
This administration is attempting to make it even easier for the union
to win in a few different ways:
1. Instead of elections being determined by 50% plus 1 of eligible
voters, they want to change it to the union needing 40% plus 1
2. The NLRB has re opened a decision from 50 years ago not
proposing that if the union “shows” a supervisor or anyone on the
management team the authorization cards by any methods
meaning paper, electronic, etc, the the union is automatically
recognized and no election will take place

29. NLRA & SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES
 Even if the employer drafts policy for legitimate reasons (anti-
harassment, etc.) NLRB looks at whether employees would view the
policy as “chilling” protected conduct.
 “Courtesy and Professionalism” rules struck down (example: Hooters of
Ontario, CA)
 “Disrespect to our guests including discussing tips”
 The handbook states that the employees have to be nice to
customers. The NLRB ruled this was against their section 7 rights.
CVS Ruling no gossip

30. GOOGLE ORGANIZING
• Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA)
• “Trust us, Google is not god. Google is just a corporation that relies on the labor
of thousands of workers—nearly half of which are denied the full pay, benefits
& rights they deserve in order to pad the pockets of a few key investors &
execs.”
• Twitter @Tech_actions :” 70 union busting docs are about to go on record
against Google. These docs btw Google & anti union consultants are likely
shared in some form across Tech and, once revealed, will give workers a window
into how union busting is done in the shadows.”

31. BIG CARTEL TECH UNION, NO ELECTION

32. TACO BELL HAPPENING NOW
• Hot take: “We should unionize Taco Bell since they're basically the food of the
proletariat. Never shall a worker be hungry as long as there's a warm
crunchwrap supreme being made by the Taco Bell workers that carry society on
their backs.”
• “The Thin Baja Blast Line represents our hard working Taco Bell workers who put
their lives on the line every day serving us delicious gut-wrenching food,
providing Baja Blast for the masses, and saying "no i do not know when
potatoes are coming back" all for like $10/hour”

33. UNIONS SET UP TABLES AT PROTESTS

34. WHO IS
IMPORTANT?
Who is the most important
person in administration
and management?

35. THE PERFECT CAMPAIGN
ESCALATES IN A
DELIBERATE,
MEASURED AND
RATIONAL WAY
GATHERS
MOMENTUM
INSPIRES
PARTICIPANTS
EVERY CAMPAIGN
IS BUILT ON
DIFFERENT
EMOTIONS
CREATE A CRISIS

36. Organizing Attitude
Action is better
than complaining
Make something
better
Problems are
situations waiting
for a solution
Willingness to
listen with
respect
Refusal to be
discouraged
Committed to
building power

37. STRATEGIC RESEARCH
CUSTOMERS USERS SUPPLIERS FINANCIAL
BACKERS
REGULATORY
AGENCIES

38. VOC
Volunteer Organizing Committee
All Shifts
All Job Titles
Ownership
People who will be trained to communicate with unrepresented workers
Phone banking
House Calls (Home visits)

39. CRISIS & VICTORY
“Settling with the union has to
be on the minds of
management team. Their last
thought before going to bed
and their first thought when
they wake up in the morning.”
“Crisis and victory are achieved
when both are so well aligned
that the target (management)
is trapped between them”

40. INITIAL CONTACT
Places where workers can speak freely without feeling intimidated by the presence of
their supervisors
Examples – homes, union halls, restaurants, bars
Listening is the KEY
Organizers become the “Go-to” person
Start talking to make workers comfortable
Move into issues and agitation: Ex: How long do you work at facility? As what the
problems are? This brings out the emotions.

41. RESPECT AS A
FOUNDATION
OF
ORGANIZING
• “The American value system is distorted- celebrity is valued
over integrity, wealth is more important than talent and
power is its own justification. All of this means that regular
working people and our occupations are given little respect
by the media or politicians, and certainly not by the
corporate class.”
• Key to organizing is one person at a time. Building a deep
personal relationship. Good organizing involves more
listening than talking
• Gathering signatures at protests

42. MEMBERS AS
ORGANIZERS
• Members can turn into professional organizers or a SPUR
(member organizer who tries to get a job with the union
permanently and has to organize a facility to win)
• “For workers to take ownership of the union, they TAKE action
together. Problems must be solved through actions.”
• Member Action Teams (MAT) – a workers first line of defense
when problems arise—unions set up these teams in organizing
campaigns as a response to problems. They are trained to be
the go-to people (VOC), to monitor the workplace and look for
ULP’s to file.

43. MEMBERS
AS
ORGANIZERS
• Simple house calls
during the blitzes
• Progression from
unpaid to paid
• Volunteers reflect the
racial and gender mix of
the target population
• Should rely on the
strengths they already
possess and their
familiarity with the
world of work to relate
to fellow workers

44. CENTRAL LABOR
COUNCIL HELP
• Becoming more involved as in the past
• Extending more volunteer organizers and training members to be
organizers
• For example, in the Midwest, the CLC has developed a program
called the “developing Secondary Leadership.” This program
trains rank and file members in organizing and leadership and
then deploys them into teams to assist local unions in organizing
efforts. “Their duties also include picketing and strike support
and working with local church groups.”

45. MEDIA USE
• Maintain Morale among your
members – make them feel like their
activities are important to the
outside world
• Give customers, investors, and others
in community reasons to cut
economic ties with the employer
• Encourage politicians and regulatory
agencies to take actions that support
your campaign or to at least stay
neutral
• Encourage members of other unions
and community groups to get
involved in support activities
• Make individual managers nervous
about the effect bad publicity may
have on their careers and
reputations

46. Legally Protected Concerted Activities
Passing out Union
literature
Signing Union
authorization cards or
petitions
Hand-billing
Picketing
Monitoring Working
conditions
Seeking compliance
with employment law
Meeting with
management to discuss
demands
Wearing Union t-shirts,
hats, buttons and
stickers
Demonstrations during
free time
Strikes
Work Stoppages
“As a note, whether protected or unprotected does not mean that it will
not be done”

47. PREPARE FOR WAR
 Phase I:
 Research, Planning and Development
 Who are the targets?
 Gather info about workplace, industry
and sector
 Develop a strategy
 Attempt to infiltrate company by salting
the workforce
 Research to find if any union members
are currently employed at the facility
 Know your demographic. Bi-lingual
organizers, door knockers

48. PREPARE FOR WAR
 Phase I:
 Start building a committee - Volunteer
Organizing Committee (VOC)
 Give them ownership
 Start creating emotional issues
 Befriend them to earn trust, become the go-to
person for them
 VOC are people who will provide the union with
ALL of the information needed about workforce
– lists of employees, addresses, issues they may
have, any gossip that can be used
 Are they liked and well respected by the other
workers? Can they challenge management? Are they
committed to unionism or just personal gain? Are
they trustworthy and reliable? Are they
representative of all parts of the work force?

49. PREPARE FOR WAR
 Phase II:
 Build support and momentum
 Hold small meetings and move to larger meetings
once that momentum is built
 Phone banking
 Home visits
 Keep the campaign silent to management while
support is built
 Schedule appointments with employees…individually
 Find out where employees’ spouses work, where
children go to school, what churches are attended,
stores shopped in.
 Build a War Room – which includes psychological
profiles on every employee, including
management

50. PREPARE FOR WAR
 Phase II:
 Create the Illusions – the illusion of:
 Workers have a voice
 Workplace safety
 Annual raises
 Tell them America was founded on unions
 Sell Hope – Whatever the worker wants to hear
 Hope for more money, hope for better staffing,
hope for better workloads, hope for better
healthcare, etc.
 Pick the Perfect time to begin card-signing
(majority of workforce has been reached)

51. MAKE MANAGEMENT FEAR YOU
• “Key management officials must feel that
they or their staff are unable to do their
work since you as the organizers are making
them respond to the union campaign
• It may be blackmail or extortion to release
dirt about them but there is no law against
concerted activity by potential members
who “uncover and publicize factual
information about individual members of the
management team.” For example, utilize
possible abuse of employer funds,
involvement in lawsuits, membership in
clubs that discriminate, controversial
activities in past jobs, etc…”

52. Does the Organizer Care
Not trained to care. Organizers are not trained to not care
about people with emotions. They represented a monetary
value.
Organize with the mentality of Death by 1000 cuts. The most
successful campaign employs all activities to increase tension
and disrupt the employer.
The key is to create situations where management will worry
from the time they wakeup till they go to bed. “If you do your
job really well, management will wake up with nightmares.”

53. TWO TYPES OF LEAFLETS
• Many unions have “canned” leaflets which tend to be rather general in their
messages, yet very eye appealing because they appear to have been
composed by graphic arts professionals. They require little work by the
organizer other than duplication and distribution. Some organizers view
these as too general in content and “too slick” in appearance and never use
them. Others confine their use to initial leaflet distributions during each
campaign, as an introduction to the union.
• Most organizers who leaflet extensively prefer the second type, leaflets that
develop themselves for each campaign. These leaflets address issues specific
to a campaign and, while carefully planned, tend to be amateurish in
appearance – what one would expect from an organizing committee
comprised of workers.
• Leaflets should be short, to the point and easy to comprehend. A
guideline used by some organizers is a message that can be read in
fifteen seconds while the recipient is walking. Anything longer is viewed
as unlikely to be read. Other organizers aim for simply a “reasonable”
length.

54. COMMUNICATION METHODS
• House calls are sometimes the only way to
achieve face-to-face communications with
potential union supporters, because of a lack of
opportunity to conduct such conversations at
the workplace
• Even when communication at the workplace is
possible, visits to workers’ homes are a routine
part of most organizers’ campaigns
• House calls demonstrate the concern of the
union for the individual worker and his or her
views. A free discussion can occur in an
environment where the worker does not feel
threatened. The organizing campaign is
individualized and each worker’s particular
issues and concerns are addressed.
• The Blitz

55. Samples of
Union
Campaign
Manual
Sample language includes:
“Follow supervisors instructions to the letter even when you
know those instructions are wrong or the supervisor has
mistakenly left out key steps.”
“In some cases you may be able to persuade the customers not
to do business with the employer because the employer is not
being fair to the workers.”
“Management will try to describe the strike as being called by
“the union”, local officers, “ a small group of hotheads”, or the
International union. Going the extra mile to make sure
everyone feels they had the chance to vote may help insure
that this charge doesn’t ring true.”

56. Samples of
Union
Campaign
Manual
“ if appropriate, show workers some interest in them as a
person.”
During a strike, strike benefits, if any, are not automatic.
Some campaign manuals state that an employee must
exhaust all bank accounts, investments, friends and family,
before they are eligible. Oh and they forgot to mention,
with every union, even when you are on strike, the
employee still has to pay dues.
“If members are supposed to believe in the phrase ‘you
are the union’…they have to see it in some publications.”

57. Samples of
Union
Campaign
Manual
“Union dues are not paid to a business. Consider them a
donation since we are a not for profit organization.”
“The union will make us go on strike.” A strike vote will take a 2/3
majority in order to pass. Strikes are infrequent and 98% of the
time, there are no strikes.”
“Always notice how after a petition is filed, management becomes
very nice and in most cases, a corporate team comes in every day.
Why are they so interested now? If getting a petition filed for an
election gets this great response, bargaining sessions will get even
better responses.”

58. Samples of
Union
Campaign
Manual
“Management will ask for that second chance.”
most times the will even bring in a new supervisor
on the front line. The front line supervisor is the
key to them winning their campaign so the front
line becomes the most involved. You have given
them years of chances, but now they want a second
chance?”

59. WHAT
DOES THE
UNION
WANT
1. UNION SECURITY
CLAUSE(Right to work versus
non- right to work state)
2. DUES DEDUCTION
PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERED
DOLLARS. UNIONS HAVE QUOTAS
TO FILL FOR MONEY AND DO
EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO FILL
THAT QUOTA.

60. Salting the
workforce
“Covert Salt”
 Salting – implanting pro-union “moles” into an
organization for information and support. SALTS
ARE PAID BY UNION in addition from job.
 At one time a company had up to 50 salts in one
company working in virtually all departments
including Human Resources, Executive Assistants
and a Vice President.
 Salts would deliver a pro-union message, get vital
information and report EVERYTHING back to me
 No information was too private
 Org Charts
 Personnel Files
 Site Diagrams
 Policies & Procedures
 Security Schedules and Routes
 Financial Statements
 Personal Information

61. OVERT
SALT
The purpose of OVERT
salting is to purposely be
exposed as a salt and not to
be hired. Then the union
will expose the company to
illegal hiring practices and a
ULP (unfair labor practice)

62. Obtaining Signatures
 The law may require 30% but
most organizers won’t touch a
campaign until 70 to 80% is
inevitable
 Organizers do “swindle”
signatures but not as much as
people think. Maybe only when
union leadership wants a 75%
or 80% threshold
 Intimidation

63. WHY MY EMPLOYEES?
PERCEPTION IS REALITY (YOUR EMPLOYEES, YOUR FACILITY,
YOUR PEOPLE, YOUR CULTURE)

64. WHO WANTS THE UNION
WHY DO EMPLOYEES WANT A
UNION?
WHAT TYPE OF EMPLOYEE OF LEADS
THE ORGANIZING MOVEMENT?

65. Sensing
Organizing
Activity
small gatherings of employees –
perhaps in unusual locations within the
facility
increase/change in activity before and
after work, breaks, and meal periods
emergence of new informal leaders
new associations of employees
Reports of employees receiving calls or
being visited at their homes

66. Organizing Symptoms
Summary
• They stop talking
• Groups
• Complaints
• Strangers
• Flyers
• Union literature
• Increased number of personal
phone calls

67. Play the game
“Ideally we (the union) wants all supporters to preach and carry the
message. However there are circumstances that the supporters may fear their
job but want the movement. So inoculate your committee and train the
supporters.”

68. Play the game
 Do Not Surface early or maybe not at all. Keep in mind that an effective committee can be hidden
and still remain effective. The solidarity is in the fact that employees can keep the secrets and the
material sacred.
 Tell management what they want to hear. Keep them away from you. Make them believe you are
not for the union but make sure the committee knows you are still on board with them. Remember
a management team that cannot tell each other what literature is being handed out or where the
union meetings are, means they are ineffective in stopping the union campaign. “management
simply does not know their own people.”

69. THE END
QUESTIONS?
Keith@laboradvisors.com
www.laboradvisors.com
(718)309-8149
EMPLOYEE & MANAGEMENT TRAINING
IS A NECESSITY!