Understanding a Union's Objectives in a Salting
Campaign
A union salting campaign is designed to intimidate
or cripple a nonunion contractor. Union salts want a contractor
to sign a union contract. If the contractor refuses, union
salting is designed to force the contractor to spend money
and waste time defending unfair labor practice charges before
the NLRB. Understanding the union's objectives and methods
are the first steps toward defeating a union salting campaign.
The union's objective
The union's basic objective during a union
salting campaign is to force the company to sign
the union's contract, without a vote by the employees. A union
will use every method it knows of, scrupulous or not, to achieve
its goal.
The contractor's objective
The contractor's objective is to bid work,
get contracts, do a good job, and get paid. Union salting
can get in the way of all of these objectives.
Methods of union salting
In the non-construction industry,
unions must be voted in by the employees, after an election
conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. However,
in the construction industry, the employee's vote is not necessary.
Instead, a company can sign what is called a "pre-hire"
agreement, which usually forces the company to employ only
union members and forces the company to abide by a contract
with the union that the company does not negotiate.
In a salting campaign, the union uses different
methods to achieve one goal -- forcing the company to sign
the union contract. Salting campaigns typically involve one
or more of the following:
- The union sends out a member/employee to
apply for and get a job with the company, while concealing
his/her union membership/employment. When the "salt"
is hired, he/she usually openly tries to organize the other
employees, and he/she may even picket the jobsite being
worked on, claiming that the company is unfair to its employees.
The "salt" normally ends up violating company
rules until he/she is fired, or voluntarily quits. The union
then files an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB,
charging that the company discriminated against the salt.
- The union sends out a member/employee to
apply for a job, while wearing union hat and clothing, pointing
out on the application that he/she is a union member and
pointing out that he/she wants to organize the company.
The salt obviously does not want a career with the company,
he/she wants to organize the company. If the salt is not
hired, the union files an unfair labor practice charge with
the NLRB.
- The union sends the company numerous resumes
of members of the local, requesting jobs with the company.
Often, the "applicants" don't even know they have
"applied" for a job at the company. If the applicants
are not hired, the union files an unfair labor practice
charge with the NLRB.
- The union successfully enlists a company
employee to become a salt, and pays the employee to try
to organize the company. The "salt" normally ends
up violating company rules until he/she is fired, or voluntarily
quits. The union then files an unfair labor practice charge
with the NLRB.
- The union entices certain employees to
leave the company during key projects, with a "guarantee"
to the employee of union rate work for a limited period
of time.
Notice that all of the examples end with the
union filing an unfair labor practice charge ("ULP")
with the NLRB. ULPs can be very expensive for the company
to defend, and usually costs the union very little, since
the charge is prosecuted by the NLRB, an agency of the federal
government. During a salting campaign, the union's goals are
either (1) forcing the company to sign the union contract,
or if unsuccessful, (2) cripple the company with legal fees
spent defending ULPs. Some construction trade unions have
also used the election procedure of the NLRB to force an election
of the employees. Even in losing such an election, the process
enables the union to file even more charges with the NLRB,
alleging campaign violations, and unfair election proceedings.
Salting campaigns are serious business. They
can cost a company several thousand dollars and can result
in a company going under. Company project managers and superintendents
must understand that their actions can lead to serious liabilities
for the company. Each project manager and superintendent must
understand what the company believes and what he can and can't
say within the bounds of the law.
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