Tapscott: Organizers Disguised as Real Employees in Targeted Firms
U.S. House has legislation to end phony employees (often called union salts) who are being paid by labor union bosses to undermine their current boss. These disguised labor persuaders pretend to be a fellow coworker, they deceive their coworkers and pretend to be friends, as they sow distrust in the employer.
When Michelle Eisen told a congressional hearing last year about her experiences working as a barista at a Buffalo Starbucks, she did so without disclosing that she was also a paid activist helping organize the coffee chain’s first unionized shop.
Eisen was reportedly paid nearly $50,000 by the Workers United affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for helping in the campaign to organize Starbucks, an effort that to date has succeeded in unionizing more than 330 additional shops since 2010. A spokesman for the union also did not respond to a request for comment. …
But Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) has other plans for the union practice of salting – namely, banning it. Allen introduced “The Truth in Employment Act of 2023â€Â on June 26, which would make it illegal for unions to insert organizers disguised as regular employees in a company that is targeted for a unionization campaign. “Big labor and union bosses will stop at nothing to coerce more American workers into unionization, even if it means targeting small businesses in need of new employees. The deceptive practice called ‘salting’ is becoming more common across the country and is nothing more than a desperate attempt to strongarm nonunion employers into unionizing their workforce without a vote—or forcing them to shut their doors,†Allen said in a statement announcing his proposal. …
“Because the vast majority of Americans have little or no interest in unionization, union bosses are increasingly turning to unionization tactics that don’t rely on worker support. They hope that by sending in ‘salts’ to bring chaos and litigation, employers will capitulate and turn their workers over to union bosses they never voted for,†NRTWC President Mark Mix said in a joint statement with Allen.
Mark Tapscott, The Epoch Times
“The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) often sides with union agents in these matters, ruling against employers who did nothing more than fire paid agitators from an outside organization. Congressman Allen’s Truth in Employment Act blocks this union legal tactic by making it absolutely clear that employers are well within their rights to refuse to hire union salts. Congress should pass the Truth in Employment Act to protect workers from being deceived and harassed at work by agents of a union that only want to take dues money out of their paychecks,†Mix said.
Employees and employers should know who they are really working with.