From the desk of Steve Cabot:

With his Congressional rubber stamp privileges revoked by the decisive loss of the House of Representatives last November, President Obama continues to use the rule-making and regulatory powers of the Executive Branch to work his will on employers.  He seems emboldened by the push-back from the American people, and is doubling down on his efforts to “transform” the country in his remaining time in office.

Previously, we described how the Democrat-dominated NLRB recently proposed rules which would significantly impact management’s ability to makes its case leading up to a union ratification election. Now it’s the Department of Labor which has stepped in to influence and intimidate employers who seek advice from outside attorneys and consultants (officially known as “persuaders”) as they prepare for these elections.

Specifically, the DOL has proposed a rule related to the reporting requirements under Section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, which would broaden “advice” to mean any “oral or written recommendation regarding a decision or course of conduct.” The rule stipulates that both the company and its consultants must open their books to report any of the newly-covered activities – and, even more intrusively, the details of any compensation involved.

As usual, the devil is in the details, as found in the language of the rule:

“For example, persuader activities may additionally include: Training or directing supervisors and other management representatives to engage in persuader activity; establishing anti-union committees composed of employees; planning employee meetings; deciding which employees to target for persuader activity or discipline; creating employer policies and practices designed to prevent organizing; and determining the timing and sequencing of persuader tactics and strategies.”

The rule goes on to state that even “union avoidance” seminars and conferences offered by lawyers or labor consultants to employers will constitute “reportable persuader activity.”  The proposed rule was  published on June 21, 2011, in the Federal Register. Public comments can submitted until August 22, 2011.

Cabot Institute for Labor Relations · consultant disclosure · corporate america · Department of Labor · employer disclosure · Labor Relations · new rule · organized labor · persuader advice · President Obama · section 203 lmrda 1959 · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · union elections · union organizers · unionization · Washington

Meet Craig Becker
President Obama’s recess appointee to the National Labor Relations Board

If you’re an employer, he just became your worst nightmare.

To my clients and friends,

Do you recognize the man pictured above? If not, you’re not alone. The Obama-compliant media have been very effective in keeping Mr. Becker — and his radical pro-union views — suppressed, at least until the President decided to defy the Senatorial majority against his nomination to the NLRB and appoint him during the Congressional recess.

Why is this important information for you to know? It’s pretty basic.

Like so many of President Obama’s advisors, confidantes, and appointees, Craig Becker is a self-described Progressive, laser-focused on "transforming" America. He is an unashamed radical who, in the name of worker "fairness," wants to rob those same workers of their right to a secret ballot in union recognition elections. And because Congress has so far been reluctant to pass this "card check" provision, he has announced his intention to bypass the legislature entirely and achieve his goal through an internal regulatory process. So much for the will of the people.

But EFCA and "card check" are just the tip of the iceberg: ALL EMPLOYERS, whether union or nonunion, need to PREPARE IMMEDIATELY for the "changes" long sought by the Left and Mr. Becker’s former associates at SEIU and the AFL-CIO.

Here at the Cabot Institute, we have been preparing for change for over two years. The press may have swooned over Mr. Obama, but I knew from his record, his writings, and the influences in his life that as President, he would have business and capitalism in his crosshairs. Sadly, I was correct.

Fortunately, we have developed an array of proven strategies to defend your rights as employers as well as the interests of your employees, even in the face of new, intrusive regulations. I will be sharing these at our upcoming Labor Strategy Survival Seminars in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, and I urge you to attend. Seating will be limited, and given the undeniable threat to employers represented by Mr. Becker and the soon-to-be-radicalized NLRB, I encourage you to register immediately.

You may have already received our seminar brochure. If so, please review it carefully and contact me with any questions or concerns. As an alternative, you can simply visit our website and download a copy — as well as register online.

I will be updating you on developments as Mr. Becker turns his philosophy into policy, and will continue to devise effective strategies for remaining union-free, working more productively with a union already in place, or even achieving the ideal of decertification.

Please call me anytime with specific matters of concern, and I hope to see you at one of our upcoming seminars.

Warmest Regards

No tags

When referring to illogical situations, it has often been said that the prisoners are running the prisons, the inmates are running the asylums, the foxes are guarding the hen houses.

Such a situation was successfully avoided at a prison in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

The Teamsters Union, ever on the look out for possible new members, had attempted to organize the Chester County Prison correction officers. The officers, ever vigilant of their responsibilities, voted 155 to 35 against forming the Chester County Corrections Officers Independent Union, which – had it succeeded – would have been allied with the Teamsters.

One can only imagine what would have occurred in the prison, if –at some future time – unionized corrections officers would have be unable to reach an agreement with the warden and the county. Would the officers have felt obliged to go out on strike? Would certain prisoners be given the responsibility of guarding their fellow prisoners?

The fact that the corrections officers believe that they can negotiate on their own, without the normal threats that unions often bring to the bargaining table, says much about their apprehension of realism and their sense of responsibility. They are to be commended for putting professional responsibilities ahead of personal interests.

The adversarial relationships that so often characterize the bargaining between management and workers have proven to be counterproductive and should be tossed onto the ash heap of labor relations history. It has proven utterly injurious to the economic health of the country.

This article was originally published here.

cabot institute. labor relations · correction officers · prison · stephen cabot · teamsters · union organizers · unionization · Unions