The Most Misunderstood Phase: Pre-Petition Mitigation
Unaddressed Tensions That No Union Contract Will Fix
When “No” Isn’t a Win
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| In the dark: Execs finding out too little too late. |
That last one might sound counter-intuitive. If a company would like to remain union-free, a vote not to unionize is a good thing, right?
The answer is: probably not. Busy executives can tend to sigh with relief and move on. They may want to believe the no vote confirmed that everything is okay, or okay enough.
Maybe they would rather rationalize that one bad employee "started the whole thing", forgetting that a lot of workers needed to sign union authorization cards in order for the union to show up. They were all "tricked into it", right? 😉
Or perhaps these execs really had committed to make some changes during the campaign. but after the bid was lost, the sense of urgency was gone.
Unresolved Pre-petition Dynamics Don’t Vanish With a Union
Union or no, the roots still grow.
The thing is, somehow, the company found themselves in that place. An employee whose hours were changed contacted the local branch. Or maybe someone who worked with a union in a previous job called them. The important thing to remember is, a union isn't going to put their time and resources into a losing battle. They're going to engage if they think it's worth it. That's just smart business.
Here's what is invisible to the public eye and untraceable through NLRB filings or ULP data, but very real. If a company is in the pre-petition phase, one or more of these is very likely to be true:
A Toxic Supervisor Was Not Removed
He was reported five times, nothing changed. They'll just have to learn how to deal with him because his numbers are the best. The job market is tough, he'll be hard to replace. Workers quit on him because they're not a 'fit", not because of him. He only yells when they don't listen the first time.
Workers Felt Ignored or Weren't Listened To
We made changes. They just didn’t notice. We heard the feedback, but it wasn’t realistic. We gave them a chance to speak up. The local HR is there to help them. We can’t communicate everything, sometimes the lack of transparency is necessary. No one brought that up in exit interviews.
Something Big Was Overlooked
An acquisition meant new workers were coming in. They were making more than the existing workers, who were training them. We made changes. They just didn’t notice. We had bigger priorities at the time. It seemed isolated, and the uproar died down over time. We explained that to her, she just didn't buy it. Yes, we did tell her that she would have time off, but then we were shorthanded. We asked the rest of them if it was bothering them too, and they all said they were fine. They have a competitive pay package overall. They’re not comparing apples to apples.
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| A supervisor berates a worker. |
The scary part? If you're in labor relations, you're probably nodding your head right now because you've actually heard every single one of these said out loud at one point or another.
Solutions: Just Another Item on Your To-do List
People do have companies to run. Workers do have unrealistic expectations sometimes. The good news is, there is middle ground. Even better, these are permissible, at any stage of the process. Best of all, most are relatively simple and low cost to accomplish.
Walk Toxic Managers Off the Floor
Even if they have a point. Even if they're yelling for a reason. Even if it makes that supervisor angry. Do better. Humans shouldn't be screaming at other humans.
Bring in a Trusted Insider to Listen
Promote or reassign a respected peer who becomes a sounding board. Train your managers. Hire consultants (shameless plug here, but we really are effective). Don't try to DIY this. It can't solely come from the C-suite.
Convert Potential Organizers Into Leaders
Dive in. Go straight to the person with the problem. Ask them to solicit feedback and report back. Make them a messenger, and give their comments weight. One caveat: get really good advice first. Don't inadvertently create a feedback loop that does more harm than good.
Change the Climate
It's surprising to me how reluctant people are to do the little things at this stage. But little things can add up. This is the time to be big on optics. Bring corporate HR onsite to assist the local team, with high optics. Show up for the swing shift. Send a problematic (but not toxic) manager offsite for leadership coaching. Change up the team, especially during disciplinary meetings. New faces mean new approaches, and you can often learn a lot about a supervisor by how he disciplines.
Identify and Address Toxic Core Groups
They're not good for the company, and they're terrible to work alongside. Transfers, reassignments, layoffs, or in some cases even promotions, that subtly disband a low-morale, perhaps early organizing cluster can work wonders.
If a company prefers to remain union-free, the key is to reduce perception that organizing is necessary to be heard. If a union is already present, the idea is to address potential issues so that the union doesn't need to step in.
It's never too early, until it's too late.
