The union-busting playbook
Employers fight unions and try to divide co-workers because they know that we have more power when we’re united as one voice. We fight union-busting by having each other’s backs, staying positive and focusing on our greatest strength: our solidarity.
We’re brave enough to imagine a brighter future for the Southern California News Group. The union-busting playbook relies on creating delays in the legal process, building fear and wearing people down to lower their resolve. Let’s break it down:
Misinformation
Anti-union consultants might distribute literature or teach managers the same tired talking points: The union just wants your dues money. The union will force you to go on strike. The union will come between you and your manager, limit workplace flexibility, create new rules, etc.
None of this is true. We make SCNG, and we make this union too. It was built by a diverse group of SCNG journalists, for SCNG journalists, and we make decisions as a group.
Asking for another chance
Front-line supervisors, mid-level managers, corporate executives, and HR representatives will suddenly start listening to problems and paying attention in an attempt to make people feel like if they stop organizing, the company will address their concerns.
Common tactics:
Staff meetings are used as opportunities for workers to vent
Upper management will send messages promising to address issues
Managers will suggest the company is poised to make changes, as long as the union goes away
As journalists, we’re in the business of accountability, and we wouldn’t just trust a source for information and promises without verification. This has to apply to our own institutions as well.
Emotional appeals
The company will make the union drive personal, acting as though the desire to organize is an attack on a specific manager or group of managers in order to distract from the real issues.
We don’t want an us-versus-them battle with our editors. But we know that in anti-union campaigns, it’s very normal for corporate to lean on front-line supervisors to deliver union-busting messaging, because that’s the most effective way to get to people. We should expect it, and we should keep in mind that it’s part of a larger corporate strategy.
Common tactics:
Managers will say they’re “hurt” by the organizing drive
The company will personally attack union organizers
Managers or consultants will persuade a few co-workers to campaign against the union or will exploit factions in the workplace
Our desire to organize is far bigger than any one person at SCNG. Our goal is to build a more sustainable workplace for everyone.