How Employers Can Balance Labor’s Surge with NLRB’s Restrictions

Employers nationwide face increased interest in labor organizing, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years. The pandemic forced many workers to reassess whether their current employment best served their needs.

Unions capitalized on the moment by aggressively organizing workers, who were often left feeling they had no voice in improving their terms and conditions of employment.

These labor organizations have engaged in calculated campaigns to convince employees they can better represent their interests against employers.

At the same time, public support of unions has increased as many of the largest organizing campaigns targeted well-known national and international companies.

Union organizing efforts have been nationally highlighted as the persistent push to organize workers has spread beyond traditionally unionized industries.

NLRB Focus

The National Labor Relations Board has aided this aggressive movement with recent pro-union precedent-shifting decisions, making it easier for unions to organize smaller groups of employees out of larger workforces and relaxing the standard for off-duty contractors to access employer property.

On the wave of these decisions, it remains to be seen how else the board may further limit employers’ ability to respond to aggressive organizing campaigns. One thing is certain—employers must strategically respond to such organizing campaigns as they navigate the limitations placed on them by the board.

As a former board agent, I conducted elections that determined whether a labor organization would become the bargaining representative for employees. I investigated unfair labor practice charges where employers were alleged to have engaged in misconduct due to employees’ organizing efforts.

Through this experience, it became clear that these employees often flocked to labor organizations for representation when they believed their employers were not responsive to their concerns about the workplace.

With the increase in organizing efforts, recent pro-union board decisions, and more to come, the implication is clear for non-unionized employers: proactively make positive employee relations a standard practice in your organization, and ensure employee voices are heard.

While every company faces unique issues, common concerns companies should expect from employees include wages, benefits, and scheduling.

Train Management to Engage

First-line supervisors are often the first connection employees have to their employer. The right training and resources can ensure managers are well-equipped to build and maintain positive relationships with teams and direct reports.

To gain a deep understanding of employee concerns, companies should evaluate potential areas of discontent. First-line supervisors are best-positioned to receive questions and concerns from employees. Employers that encourage open-door policies create the opportunity for employees to bring forward issues they face.

Once supervisors understand the most important issues to employees, companies should actively acknowledge and address those concerns when it makes business sense to do so.

Create Positive Platform for Engagement

Aside from first-line supervisors, employees often want to address their concerns with higher-level managers who can make decisions to resolve challenging issues. Companies can host regular meetings where employees may engage with upper management and human resources representatives.

These meetings should be a safe space for employees to raise their concerns and ask questions. Setting an atmosphere for employees to take workplace concerns to management helps create open communication.

Companies should also consider tools such as question boxes or other anonymous platforms for employees to bring issues to management.

Once companies have gathered information from employees about issues they face in the workplace, employers should acknowledge these concerns and engage with employees about solutions.

Companies that fail to address these issues will increase dissatisfaction and distrust of management in the workplace, often leading to labor organizing efforts.

Implement Clear Policies and Practices

Employees value fair treatment. To avoid practicing favoritism, companies should consider crafting policies and practices that establish expectations of employees. Management should then uniformly and consistently apply these policies and practices.

Over time, companies should also review and update policies to reflect shifting circumstances that impact the workforce.

Evaluate the Competition

As employees have been increasingly vocal in recent years about workplace concerns, many have opted to leave their positions for companies that are more aligned with their values.

However, those employees who stay often seek the assistance of labor organizations to gain the benefits they believe employees enjoy at other companies in their own industries.

A good practice for companies is to frequently engage in self-reflection and evaluate how they compare to their competitors. The comparison is not merely from a business perspective.

Instead, a company may assess how they compare to other companies in the benefits and flexibilities they provide their employees. Although wages are always important to employees, companies should also consider what other benefits and incentives may show employees that they are valued.

Non-unionized employers will benefit from a focus on harmonious relations with employees that isn’t merely about avoiding labor organizing among the workforce.

Rather, this approach should foster an authentic and positive relationship between management and employees that allows workers to feel valued and heard.

Such a relationship cannot be quickly developed once a representation election position has been filed. At that point, it is too late, and companies are limited in the changes they can make.

Workers may also see any attempts by the employers to address issues once a labor organization is involved as disingenuous, which may further cement employee desire to be represented by a union.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

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Stacey McClurkin Macklin is an attorney in Stinson’s labor, employment, and employee benefits practice. She was previously an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.