Unit 3 - Article

Question 1

employers can cut union win rates in half by using such tactics as

Answer 1

Compulsory management-employee assemblies, anti-union leafleting, one-on-one meetings with supervisors, and firing pro-union employees

Question 2

Union buster tatics

Answer 2

1. Fear
2. Divide and conquer
3. Nothing that happens in an anti-union campaign is spontaneous. It is all choreographed.
4. Frontline supervision/supervisors

Question 3

During a campaign workers can be quite vulnerable to retribution and employer targeting and, understandably, workers can be quite nervous.

Answer 3

Often workplaces can be divided regarding the desirability of the union, which also heightens tension. As a result, most unions attempt to keep their organizing efforts as quiet as possible for as long as possible to minimize the risk to their future members.

Question 4

employers have the right to express their opinion about unionization, but cannot threaten or intimidate workers

Answer 4

Given their power at the workplace, it can be very challenging to determine when something is a threat or an expression of opinion.

Question 5

Few employers embrace the notion of unionization and most take steps to discourage their workers from certifying

Answer 5

Recently, larger numbers of employers have been taking a more aggressive stand against unions by employing a range of tactics and strategies designed to dampen workers’ interest in the union and to defeat organizing campaigns. Many hire specialized consultants to lead their anti-union campaigns. Union busters are the subject of the Kim Phillips-Fein article and the video.

Question 6

Union busters are more common in the U.S., where restrictions on employer interventions are weaker, but

Answer 6

employers in Canada also employ similar tactics. The primary goal of a union busting campaign is to plant fears among the workforce (or at least enough to defeat the certification) that the repercussions of voting in favour of the union will be dire.