Do you
know who the new Steelworkers are?
The Union does.
A recent report showed that, in 2012, the most frequently targeted
industries were “Business Services, Health Services, Passenger Transportation,
Construction and Electric, and Gas & Sanitary Services.• Not a Steelworker
among them. Nor an Autoworker, nor any other representative in the manufacturing
sector.”
Of the approximately 2000 NLRB petitions filed in 2012, 335 were from
Business services alone. Health services accounted for 265, and Local and
suburban transit & interurban passenger transportation had 149. Virtually
every state was hit.
In the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a’changing.”
Actually, the times have been changing for quite awhile now, but sometimes
it takes cold hard facts for all of us to realize that. The move toward service
sector jobs and away from manufacturing started slowly but is now at full
throttle.
What’s that mean to you? Basically, everyone is a target. The Teamsters,
the SEIU and all unions have a lot of Administrative salaries and perks to pay.
Dwindling manufacturing membership has forced them to try and organize anybody
and everybody they can.
Often, employees in the service industries have little perception, positive
or negative, of what it means to have a union in their workplace. The unions are
more than happy to provide their version of utopia. We suggest you counter such
activity before it starts.
That doesn't mean union bashing. It means union education. The basics, like
union rules, lack of flexibility, dues, negotiations, etc. Couple that
information with the positive aspects of current company wages, benefits and
other policies. That way, if and when the union comes calling, employees are
prepared to make legitimate comparisons.
Who’s next on the “hit” list? Who’s got a target painted on their back? You
might as well open a Business Directory and just point to a random name. Hunting
season is open and everything is fair game. Don’t wait until a union has you in
their sites. Take preventive action now, communicate to your
employees.
