"Salting" In The Workplace: A Union Trojan Horse
By: RICHARD A. ROSS
Winter 1996
Several weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that paid union organizers may also be employees or applicants for employment, and are thus protected by the National Labor Relations Act. In practical terms, this means that employers cannot discharge or refuse to hire paid union organizers.
In National Labor Relations Board vs. Town & Country Electric, Inc., the Supreme Court agreed with the NLRB that "salting" (the unions practice of placing paid organizers in a company to help start a union) is lawful. Employers are now on notice that, in addition to being prohibited from discharging or refusing to hire an individual for being "pro-union", this protection extends to individuals whose primary job is to organize the company for a union.
Since employers must now hire or retain "salters" (assuming they are qualified and would otherwise be hired or retained), employers must pursue or adopt a program and philosophy that will help protect the company from being either a target or having an environment conducive to organizing efforts.
Protect your company from becoming a target.
To prevent organizing, employers should consider some or all of the following:
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Adopt and uniformly enforce a lawful "no solicitation, no distribution" rule.
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Hire and train supervisors to be good listeners and communicators, and not to be abusive or mistreat subordinates.
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Maintain competitive compensation and benefits packages.
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Have a meaningful and effective open door or grievance resolution process.
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Routinely ask employees for feedback about working conditions, benefits, compensation and suggestions to improve the company's performance and quality.
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Make adjustments and changes based on employee feedback.
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Routinely recognize positive or outstanding performances.
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Have periodic newsletters, meetings, etc., to keep employees informed of what is happening in the company.
Your best defense against union organizers is a satisfied workforce.
As you can see from the list, most of the suggestions are aimed at keeping employees informed, satisfied and involved. Historically, union organizers have little to sell to these employees. If your company is concerned about union organizing or you want to institute a program to try to avoid union organizing, contact your attorney.