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Reprinted from The Economic Policy Institute by Gordon Lafer and Lola Loustaunau on July 23, 2020.
[On Thursday], EPI released a new report providing an inside account of how employers routinely threaten, intimidate, and harass workers to stop them from exercising their right to collective bargaining. Specifically, the authors take a deep dive into unionization drives at Kumho Tire in Georgia and DISH TV corporation branches in Texas to illustrate what employer opposition campaigns look like on the ground.
The report details common employer tactics that often turn overwhelming support for unions at the outset of a campaign into a “no” vote just weeks later, including:
- Forcing employees to attend daily anti-union meetings where pro-union workers have no right to present alternative views and can be fired on the spot if they ask a question.
- Plastering the workplace with anti-union posters, banners, and looping video ads—and denying pro-union employees access to any of these media.
- Instructing managers to tell employees that there’s a good chance they will lose their jobs if they vote to unionize. …
