
          Scenes from the Office: I. "The Pitfalls Facing Management"
          By StaffStaff
          Vol. 10, No. 1, 1988, p. 9
          
          Editor's note: The following memo was circulated by the
corporate legal department of a large Atlanta business through all
levels of management in 1987. The employee who provided Southern_Changes a copy of this memo requested that
neither his/her name nor that of the company be
mentioned.
          Procedure Where Labor Union Official Contacts Management
Representative of [Company Name] for Recognition or Negotiation
          Over the past several years, unions have made unsuccessful efforts
to organize employees in several of our offices. Under the provisions
of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley),
employees have a legal right to organize if they wish, however, an
employer is also guaranteed certain rights in connection with union
organization attempts. In order to insure that our Company does not
forfeit established legal rights, it is necessary and desirable that
the following procedure be followed in the event a union
representative or anyone claiming to speak for employees contacts one
of our offices relative to recognition of a union, a group of
employees, or for any other purpose.
          1. As soon as you become aware of the slightest organizational
activity among your employees, promptly leave your office and go where
you can phone your Division Vice President privately who will then
make immediate telephone contact with his officer in the Home
Office. After consultation with the proper people, you will be advised
of what you should and should not do.
          2. If a union representative contacts you by telephone or personal
visit, carefully listen to what he has to say and be able to report
the conversation in detail, together with the name of the union
representative and the organization which he purports to represent. Do
not allow yourself to be drawn into any discussion of union
representation, grievances, or any other phase of employee
relations. Simply advise the union representative that you do not have
authority to discuss these matters with him and that you will have to
pass along his statements to higher authority in the Company and will
communicate with him later. The conversation should be kept as brief
as possible, and no agreements or commitments should be made with the
union representative. Your attitude should be polite and businesslike,
without being overly friendly or hostile. Report such calls at once so
that the matter can be immediately brought to the attention of the
Home Office.
          A. Caution: A special danger area exists where the union agent
offers to show Management cards allegedly signed by employees
designating the union as representative. Under no circumstances should
these cards be accepted, handled, examined, or counted by a Management
representative, nor should there be any agreement to examine or count
these cards at a later date. If the union agent proffers such cards,
you should decline to accept them and tell him that you do not have
any authority to examine the cards or to make any agreement for a card
check, but that you will advise your superiors and will contact him
within the next several days. (The Company has no sure way of knowing
whether the signatures on the cards are authentic, whether the cards
were legally obtained, or whether coercion or intimidation were used
in obtaining the signature, and if you fail to follow the instructions
above, your words or acts could deprive our employees and our Company
of the right to challenge the validity of these cards or to have an
election at a later date.)
          3. If the union representative contacts you by letter, discuss it
immediately with your Division Vice President who will immediately
telephone the contents of the letter to the Home Office. You will
receive instructions on how to handle the letter.
          4. If a representative of the National Labor Relations Board calls
by telephone or in person to state that a petition for representation
has been filed by the union, or for any other purpose, tell him you
have no authority in such matters and obtain his name, address, and
listen politely and carefully to his statements as to the purpose of
the call. Then advise him that you would appreciate his withholding
his questions until you can communicate with your superiors and
arrange for an appropriate person in the Company to communicate with
him. Then immediately report such conversation by telephone to your
Division Vice President and to the Home Office. If any written
communication is received from the National Labor Relations Board,
withhold a reply and promptly report the matter to your Division Vice
President and to the Home Office by telephone. In either case, the
Home Office will direct all responses to the NLRB representative.
          5. If you learn of union or organizational activity from an
employee, who comes to you to tell you about it, do a lot of listening
and avoid any conversation on the pros and cons of unionism. On the
other hand, if you are asked for your views, you must make a positive
response to the employee who asks you. Your response should simply be
that in your opinion a union is not needed in your office, that you
feel strongly that we can solve our own problems without outsiders
coming in, and that you feel a union would do far more harm than
good. Confine your remarks to the individual who asked for your
views. Do not make any speeches to any employee group. Remember, your
first step is to alert your Division Vice President and then wait for
advice and direction.
          A. Caution: If a group of employees (more than one) asks to meet
with you to discuss wages, hours, or working conditions decline to do
so. You can agree to meet with each employee individually and listen
to what each has to say. Afterwards, alert your Division Vice
President and then wait for advice and direction.
          There are many pitfalls facing members of Management during the
initial stages of a union campaign. It is necessary that you follow
the given instructions in order to insure that our handling of such
matters is consistent with the laws and Company policies and
procedures.
          -Corporate Legal Department
        
