RULES FOR SUPERVISORY AND MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
DURING UNION ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN*
CAN DO
*
CAN'T DO
1.
Listen to any information that an 1.
employee voluntarily wants to tell
you,
and
report
offered
information to management.
Do not spy on an employee or on union
activities or encourage employees to do so.
You cannot ask employees how they plan to
vote in an election or about their union
activities and sympathies, or about the union
sympathies and activities of their fellow
employees.
2.
Tell employees that you or 2.
members of management have
always been willing to discuss
any subject with them and that
they don't need to pay a union
representative to do it for them.
Do not set up or promise to set up a new
grievance procedure not in existence when
union election campaign began. Do not
solicit grievances or make promises to satisfy
those grievances during the campaign.
3.
Tell employees abut the benefits 3.
they presently enjoy.
Do not make any specific promises while a
union election is pending whether or not
conditioned on rejection of the union. Also
do not threaten employees with loss of jobs or
benefits (e.g., coffee breaks, pension plans) or
even with stricter enforcement of plant rules
in retaliation for supporting the union.
4.
Continue to maintain discipline 4.
for infractions of rules and
misconduct. Be sure you can
support your action by written
warnings, letters and the like, and
make sure your discipline is the
same
for
all
employees,
regardless of their union
sentiments.
A conservative
Do not discharge or discipline for union
activity, or enforce rules more strictly against
union supporters. Example: You cannot
discharge union supporter for ten absences
while not taking action against a person who
has 15 absences. NLRB will infer you have
discharged for union activity.
These general guidelines are based on NLRB rulings which may change without
notice; they are only general rules; specific application of these rules in some cases
should be made only after consultation with a labor relations advisor.
266824_2.doc
Paul M. Ostroff
503-778-2122
ostroffp@lanepowell.com
John C. Stevason
503-778-2144
stevasonj@lanepowell.com
1/22/03
Ralph C. Pond
206-223-7026
pondr@lanepowell.com
 2003 Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP
-1-
CAN DO
approach should be followed.
CAN'T DO
5.
Compare company benefits and 5.
wages with other union and nonunion companies if Company
benefits are better.
Do not invent or "make up" wages or benefits
at other companies or make claims that union
activity in other facilities or companies forced
layoffs or closing of businesses, as this is
tantamount to a threat.
6.
Advise employees of their 6.
protected right to refrain from
union activity, and to be free from
intimidation and harassment.
Do not prevent employees from talking about
union on non-work time, such as lunch or
coffee breaks. Do not prevent distribution of
literature before consulting labor advisor.
7.
Tell employees that company 7.
would prefer to continue to deal
with them exclusively on a
personal, one-to-one basis and
that with the union, employees
can no longer come to you
confidentially about their troubles
in the plant.
Do not tell employees that you will not be
able to deal with them individually after
unionization. (The Labor Act requires an
employer to listen to individual grievances
even
after
unionization,
but
such
conversations may not be kept confidential
from the union).
8.
Tell employees the disadvantages 8.
of belonging to a union, such as:
Do not tell employees that there will be fines
or strikes. You may only say that such things
might occur, but you are not predicting that
they will occur.
(a) Expense of initiation
fees and dues.
Do not tell employees they will be "fired" if
they go on strike or that a strike will be
inevitable, or that you will subcontract work
in the event of a strike.
(b) The possibility of
fines for violating union
rules.
9.
(c) The possibility of
strikes over something the
employees may not care
about but the union wants.
Example: Union Shop requires
that
all
employees join the union
after 30 days.
Tell employees about their legal 9.
rights and that they may obtain
additional information by calling
266824_2.doc
Paul M. Ostroff
503-778-2122
ostroffp@lanepowell.com
John C. Stevason
503-778-2144
stevasonj@lanepowell.com
1/22/03
Do not interfere with NLRB proceedings in
any way.
Ralph C. Pond
206-223-7026
pondr@lanepowell.com
 2003 Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP
-2-
CAN DO
additional information by calling
the NLRB in Seattle at (206) 2206300 and in Portland at (503)
326-3085.
CAN'T DO
10.
Correct all false impressions 10.
created by the union (quote, then
refute). Tell employees the Union
can promise anything, while the
Company can promise nothing
under NLRB rules.
This is
because the union cannot
guarantee anything it promises,
while the Company can. Ask
employees to have union agents
personally guarantee promises in
writing.
Do not make false accusations or say
anything you can't easily substantiate as being
true. This may subject you to a lawsuit. Also,
stick to the union involved, if possible. Do
not appeal to racial prejudice.
11.
Tell employees that just because 11.
they have been union members or
signed authorization cards does
not mean that they must vote for
the union.
Do not ask whether they intend to resign their
union membership or revoke authorization
card. This, in effect, asks their sentiments.
Do not advise them to resign union
membership or revoke authorization cards.
12.
Tell employees that the union can 12.
obtain no more for them than
what you agree to after good faith
bargaining.
Do not say company will flatly refuse to
bargain, or that company will stall in
bargaining or that you won't bargain until a
Circuit Court orders you to do so or that
NLRB orders are easily circumvented.
Avoid vague and threatening statements such
as "voting for the union will be futile" or "you
have everything to lose and nothing to gain by
voting for the union."
13.
Tell employees they can vote as 13.
they please without fear or
reprisal from the union (since the
election is by secret ballot).
Do not say the company will be "watching" to
see how employees vote or give any other
impression of company surveillance.
14.
Encourage employees to vote and 14.
point out that if a person does not
vote it is, in effect, a vote for the
Do not threaten reprisals if employees do not
vote.
266824_2.doc
Paul M. Ostroff
503-778-2122
ostroffp@lanepowell.com
John C. Stevason
503-778-2144
stevasonj@lanepowell.com
1/22/03
Ralph C. Pond
206-223-7026
pondr@lanepowell.com
 2003 Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP
-3-
CAN DO
union (union can get in by
obtaining a majority of those
voting).
CAN'T DO
15.
Assign undesirable work as long 15.
as it is without regard to the union
sentiments of the person affected.
Do not assign "dirty work" to employees who
are in favor of union in hopes they will quit,
or for punishment. Also, do not isolate union
pushers on night shift, into the "boondocks,"
etc. (but, you can see that employees attend to
their work and not wander about the plant).
16.
16.
Do not answer the question, "What are you
going to do for me if I vote against the
union?" Best way to field this question is by
saying "let the past be a guide to the future,"
or "the NLRB prohibits me from making any
promises."
17.
Lay
off
employees
if 17.
economically necessary to do so
on the basis of skill and ability
(but be sure you document
reasons other than your own
subjective thinking).
Do not lay off union adherents if they are
better workers than anti-union workers. and
DON'T lay off or discharge for such terms as
"poor attitude."
18.
Ask a prospective employee what 18.
company he worked for before he
applied for a job with you.
Do not ask applicants or employees whether
they belong to a union or have signed a union
authorization card.
19.
Talk to employees at their stations 19.
or in large groups in office,
subject to the "don'ts" in this list.
Do not talk to an employee individually in
your office (unless he or she requests it) or
visit employees in their homes for the purpose
of talking about the union.
20.
Make speeches to massed 20.
assemblies of employees on
company time without giving
equal opportunity to union
adherents. Always speak from
memorized written notes or read
text at such meetings. Have tape
recording made of speech or
persons certify that the talk was
Do not have massed assembly speeches on
work time within 24 hours of election.
266824_2.doc
Paul M. Ostroff
503-778-2122
ostroffp@lanepowell.com
John C. Stevason
503-778-2144
stevasonj@lanepowell.com
1/22/03
Ralph C. Pond
206-223-7026
pondr@lanepowell.com
 2003 Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP
-4-
CAN DO
delivered as it appears in written
form.
CAN'T DO
21.
Enforce work rules.
21.
22.
Have every supervisor record 22.
every conversation concerning
the union in a notebook you have
provided.
Frequently monitor
this procedure to make absolutely
certain that it is being followed.
23.
Enlist the aid of every supervisor 23.
and management person in your
campaign and make sure that the
most popular ones take an active
part.
24.
In general, you can actively
campaign against the union so
long as it does not involve threats,
promises
or
discrimination
against union adherents.
Do not enforce rule for one employee if he is
for the union without enforcing it for another
employee if he is against the union.
Do not ask a supervisor or management
person to spy on union activities or to make a
list of the union adherents in their
departments. Do not ask a supervisor or
management person to commit an unfair labor
practice or discipline or threaten to discipline
them for refusing to do so.
999999.2000/266824.2
266824_2.doc
Paul M. Ostroff
503-778-2122
ostroffp@lanepowell.com
John C. Stevason
503-778-2144
stevasonj@lanepowell.com
1/22/03
Ralph C. Pond
206-223-7026
pondr@lanepowell.com
 2003 Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP
-5-