Anti-union persuasion tactics pose a significant barrier to worker organizing. These tactics are often strategized using outside firms – or what the DOL terms “persuader” firms – that wage campaigns to dissuade workers from voting in favor of a union. These firms often encourage highly coercive behavior from employers, who pay an estimated $400 million a year on anti-union consultants. Companies’ use of persuaders without transparency obscures essential information about the sources of materials and policies to which workers are subjected. Moreover, the persuader sector is dominated by a small group of law firms and consulting firms, which raises questions about whether their activities enable employers to coordinate and share information on anti-union strategies.
In, “Spotlight on Union-Busters: Recommendations to the Department of Labor and Federal Trade Commission,” Governing for Impact (GFI), LaborLab, and CLJE outline strategic actions consistent with existing law that the agencies can take to protect workers’ right to organize and make informed decisions about unionization, free from unduly coercive anti-union behavior. The report proposes changes the DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) can make to the employer and management-side firm reporting requirements mandated by the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) to increase transparency around the scope of companies’ use of anti-union firms in unionization drives. In addition, the organizations recommend that the FTC investigate whether persuader firms facilitate unlawful conspiracies between competing employers to hold down wages and prevent unionization.
The recommendations covered in the report are as follows:
- DOL: Rescind the OLMS Form LM-21 special enforcement policy and clarify that the Form LM-21 requires the reporting of receipts and disbursements from labor relations advice as well as persuasion activity.
- DOL: Require employers who must complete LM-10 forms to indicate if they receive federal financial support in the form of grants, loans, or loan guarantees.
- DOL: Take new action to expand the scope of employer reporting on Form LM-10.
- FTC: Investigate whether union-avoidance firms facilitate unlawful conspiracies between competing employers to hold down wages and prevent unionization.
About the Center for Labor and a Just Economy
The Center for Labor and a Just Economy is Harvard Law School’s hub of collaborative research, policy, and strategies to empower working people to build an equitable economy and democracy. Through convening stakeholders, disseminating ideas, advising policy makers, and shaping how the media understands progressive labor issues, the Center is committed to reimagining the law and developing paradigm-shifting policy.
Governing for Impact (GFI) is a regulatory policy organization dedicated to ensuring the federal government works for working Americans, not corporate lobbyists. The policies we design and the legal insights we develop help increase opportunity for those not historically represented in regulatory policy implementation work: working people. For additional information about GFI, please visit https://governingforimpact.org/.
LaborLab is a nonprofit watchdog organization protecting and promoting the right of workers to collectively bargain. Every year, our work helps ensure thousands of workers have access to a voice on the job. Many of LaborLab’s current campaigns focus on tracking, monitoring, and reporting on the union-busting industry and its compliance with the law. For additional information about LaborLab, visit https://laborlab.us/about/.
