An American norm: Union busting prevalent Across the nation

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America's Work Force Union Podcast AWF

Labor-Lab

Guest Name:

Bob Funk

Guest Website:

www.laborlab.us

Guest Social Media:

Facebook

Twitter

Supportive Documents:

LaborLab Secretary-Treasurer Bob Funk joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the organization’s efforts to launch the largest and most comprehensive digital union-busting tracking system.

LaborLab is the only nonprofit watchdog organization to daily track union-busting activities through LM-20 filings with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Companies are legally required to file LM-20 reports within 30 days of hiring anti-union organizations to discourage their workers from organizing. However, companies are only required to file a report if they meet face-to-face with workers. Under the advice exception, anything technically considered advice such as writing speeches, sending text messages, training management or sending out fliers is exempt, Funk said. It is a massive loophole one could practically drive a semi-truck through, he added.

Funk estimated that only about 10 percent of anti-union activity can be tracked. Though companies are required to file within 30 days of hire, many do not or choose to file late. The penalties for missing or late filings are lax to non-existent, he explained.

Companies instituting legal strategies to delay or prevent unionization is the norm in America, Funk said. It happens at every level of the economy, as LaborLab strives to shine a light on and illuminate the union busting industry in the U.S.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about the LaborLab’s efforts to track union busting activities.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

An American norm: Union busting prevalent Across the nation

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