The five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has the power to effect substantive changes in laws that cover non-union as well as union workplaces. Given the anticipated shifts toward union-friendly rulings identified by Board Chair Wilma Liebman in her dissents to previous Board rulings and in her Congressional testimony, employers who would like their workers to choose to remain non-union would be well advised to take legal and ethical actions NOW to mitigate the negative effects such rulings may have on them and their employees. Below are one preventive action and six contingent actions management can take in anticipation of these changes.
The most effective antidote to outside intervention is preventive action — i.e., make a conscious decision to place a high priority on your employees. Create an employee-centered workplace™, which I define as an environment in which every person, system, program, and process is focused on helping employees become fully successful. Since everyone wins when employees are fully successful, why would you NOT choose to make them a high priority?
Here are six legal and ethical contingent actions management can take to prepare for the effects of the anticipated NLRB rulings on the employer-employee relationship:
1. Monitor NLRB rulings and Executive Orders closely. Get expert help if necessary to identify the impact the changes they will have in your workplace. Be pro-active; don’t wait for the decisions to be handed down before you take action.
2. Do not discriminate against employees on the basis of union activity or membership – it is illegal to do so. Management can avoid engaging in illegal activity by applying workplace policies consistently and enforcing them rigorously.
3. Educate all levels of management about employer rights and responsibilities as well as about what constitutes legal and illegal behavior.
4. Hold managers strictly accountable for acting legally and ethically.
5. Educate employees NOW about management’s position on unionization in ways that they do not perceive as threatening or intimidating. Inform them of their right to join or refrain from joining a union. The timing for disseminating accurate and complete information to employees is important: “employer neutrality” clauses may prohibit such communication in the near future.
6. Become familiar with the previous NLRB rulings targeted for reversal and make relevant adjustments to organizational policies NOW.
The saying, “The best offense is a good defense” is good advice for both employers and employees. Taking the preventive action of making employees a high priority in the workplace will reap benefits for organizations in terms of higher productivity and profitability, and for employees in terms of fair treatment. Coincidentally it will decrease the likelihood that employees will see a need for union intervention. Management decisions and behaviors in the workplace will inform employees’ choices about union representation. What is your choice?
© 2009 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.
