subject: Union Promises/national Labor Relations Board/labor Relations [print this page] According to the National Labor Relations Board, unions in America have the legal right to make promises to employees even though they do not have the ability to guarantee these promises at the collective bargaining table. In fact, the labor relations board has stated that they do not believe employees are "naive" enough to believe everything a union organizer says to them.
Really? Well, I have to disagree with the NLRB on this one. People are tired and they are working harder than ever just to make ends meet. I have personally witnessed the smartest and most discerning individuals fall prey to the lies of a union organizer. You know why? Because there is always hope that whatever it is that has been promised will be better than their current reality.
During a union organizing campaign, labor unions live by the motto "if we can get the employees to believe it then we'll use it." I have heard union organizers promising employees $5, $10 even $12 dollar an hour raises simply so they will vote for the union during the labor relations board secret ballot voting process.
However, the NLRB holds that it is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act if a representative of the company makes a promise of any kind to the employees? The NLRB states that the company is the only party that actually has the power to grant whatever has been promised. The union on the other hand only has the power to ask the company to give something during negotiations. That's it. The union has no power to require anything of the company other than taking monetary dues out of the employees checks.
Labor union organizers have been trained on what to say to employees in order to convince them to sign union authorization cards. Labor unions are a business and your employees are their commerce. Union organizers have been trained on how to lie, cheat and mislead employees.
Companies must employ effective employee and labor relations when dealing with employees. The best defense to these false union promises is by equipping the management team with an in depth understanding of what it means to treat employees with respect and dignity. Make the employees value added participants in the business. Turn their working reality into one that they can be proud of. Union promises will mean nothing to the employee that feels she is an integral piece of a company that values her.