Unions Hiding; Disguising Labor Persuaders To Prevent Reporting

Big Labor using secretive tactics to force employees into compulsory unionism.  From House Ed & Workforce hearing testimony by Stefan Marculewicz:

One of the most significant examples of this effort is the development of organizations known as “worker centers.” In recent months, these groups have been involved in protests and other activities that have received substantial coverage in the media. Today there are hundreds of worker centers across the country. Their structure and composition vary. Typically, they are non-profit organizations that receive funding from foundations, grants—including from government, membership fees and other donations. Some are funded by other labor organizations. These groups offer a variety of services to their members, including education, training, employment services and legal advice. Increasingly, however, worker centers are directly engaging employers or groups of employers to effectuate change in the wages, hours and terms and conditions of workers they claim to represent. Indeed, when it comes to such direct engagement, these worker centers often act no differently than traditional labor organizations.

Yet, few of these groups comply with the laws that regulate labor organizations. Statutes like the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) contain significant protections with respect to representational democracy, organizational democracy, access to basic information and promotion of a duty of fair representation. These basic rights are an important part of the process governing the representation of employees in the workplace by third-party organizations.

Even though compliance with these laws would confer benefits upon the very workers these groups claim to represent, many such groups are reluctant to define themselves as labor organizations because the NLRA and the LMRDA are perceived as creating an impediment to worker centers’ activities. In addition, worker centers have not considered themselves to be limited by the NLRA restrictions on secondary picketing and protracted picketing for recognition, and such conduct is a common tool used by these groups to convey their message, although it would violate the NLRA.