In Keeping Down American Workers, Corporate Crime Pays

Dankdude · #1 07-20-2007, 09:35 AM

By Ben Zipperer and John Schmitt, AlterNet. Posted July 20, 2007.

Crime may not pay for ordinary criminals, but companies avoid paying millions in wages and benefits by committing crimes against their workers.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once lambasted union busters, proclaiming, "Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice." But the fools today are actually acting quite rationally. Facing trivial penalties, anti-union employers are increasingly breaking the law to keep their workers from organizing.

Fifty years ago, more than 30 percent of private-sector workers were organized. That share today is 8 percent. Globalization and the new, technology-driven economy have contributed to the decline, but advanced economies in Europe survive these same developments and still have union coverage rates of around 80 percent.

Much of the falloff in the United States is not due to the "new" economy or waning worker interest; it's instead the result of illegal intimidation by employers. Our recent analysis of cases brought before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversees union-management relations in most of the private sector, shows that employers illegally fire as many as 1 in 5 union organizers.

Actions by the world's largest employer are a case in point. When butchers at Wal-Mart's Jacksonville, Texas, store joined the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Wal-Mart permanently closed its meat-cutting departments, switched to prepackaged meat and fired four of the union supporters.

Wal-Mart's not alone, as much of the business community hates unions. Unions fight for increased wages and benefits and for redistributing earnings from employers to workers. Corporate managers, on the other hand, try to maximize profits for shareholders and compensation packages for those at the top. Compelled by the threat of lower profits, many employers will do whatever it takes to avoid a union workplace.

Not infrequently, this means breaking the law. The National Labor Relations Act (NRLB) makes it illegal to intimidate or fire workers for union activity. Yet, according to our study of data from the NLRB, there has been a steep rise in illegal firings of pro-union workers in the last few years. Currently, 1 in 53 is dumped during an election campaign, more than 50 percent higher than the chance of being fired in the late 1990s.

Employers generally fire the workers who are leading the union organizing drives. If 10 percent of union supporters are actually organizers in their workplace, NLRB data show that about 1 in 5 is fired illegally for their activism.

Interestingly, union membership has actually increased in the public sector. Whereas the private sector -- the bulk of the U.S. economy -- has seen unionization fall by three-quarters over the last 50 years, public-sector union membership has tripled over the same period to about 36 percent. Persistent, illegal activity by employers in the private sector explains this disparity. Illegal firings exist in the public sector too, of course, but they are far less prevalent. Civil service protections that most private sector workers don't enjoy ensure that firings are more onerous for the government than they are for a business.

Union busters, or "fools" in Eisenhower's assessment, make a simple decision about costs and benefits. In a worst-case scenario, the cost of firing a union supporter includes legal proceedings and remuneration to the discharged employee. At a maximum, discharged employees will receive missed earnings minus any income they have earned in the meantime. The total award usually amounts to less than $4,000, a small price to pay to avoid sharing profits with employees through a union-negotiated contract.

More than half of nonsupervisory workers who aren't union members, want to be. The U.S. Senate voted last month to kill the Employee Free Choice Act, setting back another opportunity to increase fines and reduce the incentives for anti-union employers to break the law. Without those reforms, the current cost of illegal employer aggression ensures that crime really does pay.

medicineman · #2 07-20-2007, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dankdude

By Ben Zipperer and John Schmitt, AlterNet. Posted July 20, 2007.

Crime may not pay for ordinary criminals, but companies avoid paying millions in wages and benefits by committing crimes against their workers.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once lambasted union busters, proclaiming, "Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice." But the fools today are actually acting quite rationally. Facing trivial penalties, anti-union employers are increasingly breaking the law to keep their workers from organizing.

Fifty years ago, more than 30 percent of private-sector workers were organized. That share today is 8 percent. Globalization and the new, technology-driven economy have contributed to the decline, but advanced economies in Europe survive these same developments and still have union coverage rates of around 80 percent.

Much of the falloff in the United States is not due to the "new" economy or waning worker interest; it's instead the result of illegal intimidation by employers. Our recent analysis of cases brought before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversees union-management relations in most of the private sector, shows that employers illegally fire as many as 1 in 5 union organizers.

Actions by the world's largest employer are a case in point. When butchers at Wal-Mart's Jacksonville, Texas, store joined the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Wal-Mart permanently closed its meat-cutting departments, switched to prepackaged meat and fired four of the union supporters.

Wal-Mart's not alone, as much of the business community hates unions. Unions fight for increased wages and benefits and for redistributing earnings from employers to workers. Corporate managers, on the other hand, try to maximize profits for shareholders and compensation packages for those at the top. Compelled by the threat of lower profits, many employers will do whatever it takes to avoid a union workplace.

Not infrequently, this means breaking the law. The National Labor Relations Act (NRLB) makes it illegal to intimidate or fire workers for union activity. Yet, according to our study of data from the NLRB, there has been a steep rise in illegal firings of pro-union workers in the last few years. Currently, 1 in 53 is dumped during an election campaign, more than 50 percent higher than the chance of being fired in the late 1990s.

Employers generally fire the workers who are leading the union organizing drives. If 10 percent of union supporters are actually organizers in their workplace, NLRB data show that about 1 in 5 is fired illegally for their activism.

Interestingly, union membership has actually increased in the public sector. Whereas the private sector -- the bulk of the U.S. economy -- has seen unionization fall by three-quarters over the last 50 years, public-sector union membership has tripled over the same period to about 36 percent. Persistent, illegal activity by employers in the private sector explains this disparity. Illegal firings exist in the public sector too, of course, but they are far less prevalent. Civil service protections that most private sector workers don't enjoy ensure that firings are more onerous for the government than they are for a business.

Union busters, or "fools" in Eisenhower's assessment, make a simple decision about costs and benefits. In a worst-case scenario, the cost of firing a union supporter includes legal proceedings and remuneration to the discharged employee. At a maximum, discharged employees will receive missed earnings minus any income they have earned in the meantime. The total award usually amounts to less than $4,000, a small price to pay to avoid sharing profits with employees through a union-negotiated contract.

More than half of nonsupervisory workers who aren't union members, want to be. The U.S. Senate voted last month to kill the Employee Free Choice Act, setting back another opportunity to increase fines and reduce the incentives for anti-union employers to break the law. Without those reforms, the current cost of illegal employer aggression ensures that crime really does pay.

I'd say that 90% of my adult employment was union labor, When I wasn't in a union, I was generally in business for my self except for 7 years working for one employer in the automotive business on a percentage basis. I always made more than the prevailing wage for any occupation I was involved in. My union pay for carpentership in the 70s was double what non-union carpenters make today, and I had a health benefit and a retirement benefit, something these illegals are not getting today. Whern I was a teamster, I made about double what non-teamsters did for similar driving jobs, with benefits and retirement of which I am a recipient today. The unions basically created the middle class that the Bush Governmens is so intent on dismantling.

ViRedd · #3 07-20-2007, 05:12 PM

I always fended for myself on every job I've ever had. I made it a point to see that my production kept me in the top 20% of the work/sales force. I always made top dollar and got my promotion when the openings came ... if I wanted them. When layoffs came, I was always bypassed. It was the bottom 20% that got their walking papers. I raised myself from a poor white kid to above middle class stature without union support or ever paying them one dime in dues.

There is a reason union membership has dwindled over the years. They have fallen out of favor with the workers. Its simple supply and demand. If things were so bad for the American worker as you guys say it is, you can BET the workers would organize again and union membership would be on the upswing.

Vi

medicineman · #4 07-22-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

I always fended for myself on every job I've ever had. I made it a point to see that my production kept me in the top 20% of the work/sales force. I always made top dollar and got my promotion when the openings came ... if I wanted them. When layoffs came, I was always bypassed. It was the bottom 20% that got their walking papers. I raised myself from a poor white kid to above middle class stature without union support or ever paying them one dime in dues.

There is a reason union membership has dwindled over the years. They have fallen out of favor with the workers. Its simple supply and demand. If things were so bad for the American worker as you guys say it is, you can BET the workers would organize again and union membership would be on the upswing.

Vi

Companies have made it so hard to unionize that the Main fear of organizing, is losing your job. I will agree that unions have not been conducive to treating their workers with respect, the same respect they demand of the workers. I realize we have taken different paths to end up where we are and I don't really envy your place in the universe. But I certainly think that workers need more of a voice in their employment situation. It should be a co-op, with the owners and managers getting more of the pie than the workers but not a slave shop either. If an employee won't or cannot fulfill his employment obligation, then the employer should have the right to terminate him, but discriminate termination should be unlawful. I voluntarily joined the unions to get a job in that industry, and paid my monthly dues without any hard feelings, knowing that I made almost that fee in one hour on the job and if I were to go to a non-union shop, I'd probably make at least 5 dollars less an hour. The unions built the middle class and Bush is dismanteling it.

ViRedd · #5 07-22-2007, 02:49 PM

Med ...

As I've shared with you in the past, I spent many years in sales management and had a multitude of salesmen reporting to me. We were a non-union company and constantly under attack by the Teamsters to organize. Unless the rules of the game have been changed, there are very strict laws covering how management can conduct themselves during a union organizing campaign. Also, if a company fires, or even tries to intimidate an employee for attempting to organize other employees, there are HUGE fines involved to punish the employer. Not only are there onerous fines in place, but in some cases, courts have ruled in favor of the unions and allowed the employees to join the union, even in spite of not having a majority vote of the employees. Have the laws changed?

Vi

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