Leveraging Diversity As A Union Avoidance Tool

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Today's workforce has changed dramatically. Companies employ people from diverse racial classes, ethnic groups and sexual orientation. The globalization of business has taken employees from one end of the globe to the next.

Companies that embrace the business case for diversity have created wonderful opportunities for innovative thoughts and perspectives within the organization which often leads to a greater understanding of customers from multiple backgrounds.

It has been my experience that the more sophisticated and well organized labor unions have a strong understanding of diversity as well. These unions are well trained in using diversity as a tool for leveraging union campaigns against companies, especially when they are looking for new organizing opportunities.

About four years ago, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest unions in America, launched a union campaign for the sole purpose of organizing close to 400 parking lot employees. The majority of these employees were of Ethiopian descent.

The consensus among the Ethiopian employees was that management did not place a high premium on understanding their culture, let alone their religion. The Ethiopian employees also believed they were passed over for promotions while employees from different racial backgrounds were groomed into management positions.

To their credit, the Ethiopian employees did meet with management to voice their concerns. Management seemed to listen attentively, but nothing changed for the employees. As a result, the employees began to seek union representation.

It did not take long for the Teamsters to send in an sent in an Ethiopian union organizer to infiltrate the Ethiopian community. For the better part of a year, this union organizer attended church services, community events, dinners, birthday celebrations and even baby showers. The union organizer claimed that the Teamsters had a special relationship with the federal government which would allow him to provide a special "green card" to anyone seeking to bring their family to the United States.

This labor union organizer successfully convinced the majority of the Ethiopian employees to sign union authorization cards. The Teamsters were able to sway the employees into believing that voting in a labor relations board union election vote was their best option. The Teamsters understood the power of diversity. The company felt blindsided, but their resistance to change put the employees in a no-win situation.

Over time the employees grew tired of the Teamsters union campaign. The employees voted out the union in the National Labor Relations Board secret ballot election, but it should have never come to this.

After the vote, management created strong policies around diversity and to their credit they created a culture where all people are embraced. The company realized that they left themselves vulnerable to the Teamsters due to their inability to fully understand and leverage the awesome power of diversity.


About the Author:
Jason Greer is a nationally renowned labor and employee relations specialist providing a wide array of consulting services, ranging from union avoidance to management training to conflict avoidance. Check out his free video and special report at http://www.labormanagementrelations.com



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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