Dive Brief:
- An article in the New York Times explores the concept of employees organizing, but not unionizing, to successfully face employers who the workers feel are mistreating them.
- In this case, a group of non-union employees in Santa Fe, N.M. delivered a joint letter to their employer, Squeakly Clean Car Wash, who eventually fired several of the workers. The letter contained a list of grievances, some very serious.
- The National Labor Relations Act prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for engaging in “concerted” activity to improve their wages and conditions, even when they are not trying to unionize, the Times reports. The NLRB agreed in this case. The workers were reinstated and the labor board ordered Squeaky Clean to pay $6,000 in back wages and $60,000 to settle claims for minimum wage and overtime violations.
Dive Insight:
The basic lesson: Don't try and bully employees unless you are prepared to suffer a similar fate.
Despite complaints from organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, these union-like efforts are having an impact. The Times reports that worker committees have been accumulating victories. In recent years, workers at 12 New Mexico companies have complained to the NLRB that they were fired for pushing to improve conditions. In 11 of those cases, says the Times article, the labor board’s Phoenix office found that the firings had been unlawful and pressed for the workers’ reinstatement.
“A lot of people thought the National Labor Relations Act could be used only during unionization campaigns,” Andrew Schrank, a labor relations specialist, told the Times. “They’re finding that the National Labor Relations Act is much more expansive than many people thought.”
Many of the employers who have felt the wrath of the worker committees are smaller companies without the benefit of an HR professional. But they certainly can learn some lessons from the New Mexico examples.
