OSHA Opens New Door For Big Labor

Last week, OSHA joined the ranks of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in furthering the Obama Administration’s push to implement “card check” as pay back for Big Labor’s political contributions and ground game support during the past two Presidential Elections (see past blog, Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation).

OSHA’s latest published “Interpretation Letter,” permitting non-union employees to utilize union reps as their representatives during an OSHA inspection is absolutely frightening (see ALERT – L&E_OSHA Interpretation Letter Non-Union Employees Representative)! Just as frightening, is that this interpretation has not been widely reported by the mainstream media!

Perhaps the silence is the result of the media’s view that the provisions contained in the “interpretation letter” amount to nothing more than harmless, common sense provisions designed to assist employees who feel exposed to potential unsafe working conditions. On the surface this would seem reasonable. However, this provision has been part of OSHA regulations for years. Never before has it been interpreted to allow non-union employees to utilize a third-party union to act as their representative.

So, why now? Despite the Administration’s best attempts, Big Labor continues to lose hundreds of thousands of members as they have lost all relevance and no longer deliver a product of value.  This action by the Obama Administration through its Chief Safety Regulator opens a huge opportunity for unions to enter non-union facilities under the auspices of government approval, and to begin organizing the employees. The unions have become enabled with recent Rogue NLRB decisions allowing unionization of small groups of employees, or “micro-units” within an employers business.  These actions are nothing but blatant Administration attempts to provide Big Labor the opportunity to get its foot in the door of non-union facilities where they previously had no chance to organize the workforce!

During the SEIU’s Corporate Campaigns against my company (EMS), the SEIU actually utilized this tactic in order to defame and intimidate the company into signing a Neutrality Agreement thus eliminating the secret ballot election and imposing Card Check, as chronicled in The Devil at Our Doorstep. The SEIU was, ultimately, unsuccessful.   However, had these two decisions been in place at the time, the SEIU might very well have been successful in organizing a small unit of employees within EMS’s workforce.  The union would simply have to convince, by any means necessary, a couple of employees to join the union cause. They would then allege “safety violations” to OSHA. would then likely appear for an inspection, generally encompassing not just the complained of activities, but any potential safety concern, no matter how large or small.  This, of course, poses substantial risk, both financially and to the reputation of the targeted company.

The SEIU took these actions against EMS in Cincinnati and Indianapolis. If the SEIU would have been allowed to represent these misguided employees the outcome most likely would have been much different then related in the following excerpt from The Devil at Our Doorstep and the SEIU would have had even more access to our employees as their representative.

“When I believed the war could not become more bizarre, it did. Without warning, SEIU filed an OSHA complaint in Cincinnati against EMS. This government agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, establishes and enforces protective standards designed to prevent work-related injury, illnesses, and death. 

The complaint charged that EMS employees were forced to carry human body parts out in bags at a Cincinnati university, that there were hazardous chemicals and dust in the bio lab, and that people were getting nosebleeds from the poor conditions. Then SEIU sent out handbills and letters alleging that EMS was being investigated for OSHA violations at the university. The word “investigated” had its obvious repercussions, a crafty move by the union. Predictably, when the truth was revealed, it became known that the lab in question was a regular biology lab anyone in college might use. There was no dust found and no hazardous materials of any kind. Animal parts from dissections existed, but no EMS employees touched or disposed of them. Human body parts were nonexistent, a figment of some SEIU organizer’s imagination.

The university’s own investigation confirmed these facts, and its independent report was forwarded to OSHA, who promptly dismissed the charges. Regardless, SEIU had used an inflammatory allegation to file trumped-up charges against EMS to defame our company and the university.”

By taking these actions, the union accomplished their first objective – get in the door and commence the pressure against the targeted company.  The stage is then set for the union to achieve Card Check by simply offering to have the charges withdrawn if the company would simply sign the Neutrality Agreement.  As a practical matter, this would eliminate the secret ballot election. The union would no longer have concern about whether or not they would be voted in by the employees.  Overnight the company would be unionized!

What makes the timing of the OSHA interpretation so questionable is the fact that the President’s recent recess appointees to the NLRB have been found unconstitutional and all of their decisions over the past year have been placed on hold until constitutional appointees can be made and the decisions revisited (see National Labor Relations Board or NBLR – National Big Labor Resuscitation and Tip of the Iceberg). These decisions were extremely pro-labor and designed to allow Big Labor to bypass Corporate Campaigns and achieve Card Check! Obviously, the President had to act swiftly in order to provide his Big Labor buddies with a new avenue to wage ruthless Death by a Thousand Cuts campaigns and utilize their Persuasion of Power to force unionize employees. Once again, it begs the question When Will the Main Stream Media Wake Up?

Big Labor Bosses Fear Employee Incentives

Control.  It is the most pressing priority for the leadership of Big Labor. They need to control the masses, and in order to do that they most control the terms of employment, and they must control the benefits of employment. For this reason, the Big Labor bosses oppose employee incentive raises. They create discord and jealousy,  and thus, the union’s ability to control its membership.  But such incentives also create ambition, initiative, and increased productivity.  While important to the the employer, these traits are potentially damaging to the union. Complacency, mediocrity and sameness benefit the union,  as the results are that it takes more employees to produce the end product, translating into more union members and more union dues, which is the ultimate objective.

As has been documented in previous blogs, unions have been on a steady decline since 1947 when Congress, following more than a decade of union corruption,passed the Taft-Hartley Act. Of the many important provisions of the Act, perhaps none was more so than the guarantee of the secret ballot election which,  for all intents and purposes, eliminated Card Check!  Since its peak, union membership has dropped from approximately 35-40% of the workforce to a low of 11.3% today. Per statistics gathered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, included amongst this trending decrease is a drop of approximately 400,000 members in the last year alone.

It is no surprise then that the Big Labor bosses are opposed to any initiatives that would, in their minds, result in decreased membership and would eliminate traditional union “selling points.”  Characterization of ambition and incentive has often been that such persons are “being taken advantage of” or “overworked,” and that such companies are “sweat shops.” These traditional arguments, however, do not necessarily reflect the truth of the modern work environment, and the protections of our modern laws.  At one time unions served an important purpose in defending employee rights. However, Big Labor has fallen victim to the money, lifestyle and political power realized from increased union membership, and has lost their way and forgot their responsibility was to serve the membership and not vice-versa! Their greed, inability or resistance to compete in a free market society, and the advent of government agencies such as the NLRB, EEOC, and DOL unions in effect became obsolete.

Facing extinction, Big Labor’s Gasping Dinosaurs have yet to face reality and change its model to one that truly benefits productive employees and its membership in general. Instead they continue to attempt to impose their outdated and ineffective tactics of control, intimidation, coercion, and misinformation in a frantic effort to survive. Instead, they continue to wish to return to the days of Card Check where they force unionize employees then keep them under their thumbs by negotiating oppressive contracts that control employee rights instead of expanding them. They firmly believe this outdated approach is their only means of rebuilding their once vast empire!

Unfortunately for American employees, Big Labor does not realize time has passed them by; and that the United States is a republic not a socialistic country where people are controlled and herded like sheep. Hence Big Labor’s propensity to control and promote sameness at every juncture, and to prevent businesses from doing the right thing by rewarding productive employees through incentive programs, which drives American Exceptionalism  by rewarding those who are the most productive, safe, innovative, and cost-effective team players. This philosophy is illustrated by Big Labor bosses like Andy Stern (see The Drama Queen is at it Again), who were never successful in the free market, because they lacked the exact attributes they strive to suppress. They admittedly only became successful when they became part of an environment where they could use the Persuasion of Power  over employees and employers to achieve their goals. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka summed it up succinctly in a speech this past week when the bellicose mouthpiece of the AFL-CIO, confirmed the Big Labor survival doctrine: “forget the workers – focus on politics!” This statement tells you everything you need to know about Big Labor’s agenda and why we need Congress to pass laws to allow employers and government agencies restrained by outdated collective bargaining agreements to incentivize employees and  reverse The Decline of American Exceptionalism!

The Center for Independent Employees

I am writing to you as the owner of a company who has experienced terrible costs, both financial and emotional, of fighting a targeted union campaign. These campaigns are designed for the express purpose of force unionizing employees.  The unions that employ these tactics have no concern for the damage they cause. They target the employer, and utilize smear campaigns, and spread lies and deceit. They often include the filing of unsubstantiated complaints and regulatory actions, and directly interfere with the businesses customer relationships.  The goal of these campaigns is to cause chaos and disrupt the businesses operations, and ultimately to bring the business to its knees.

Unfortunately, my company, Executive Management Services, Inc., has experienced the intimidation of Big Labor on employer and employees as chronicled in my book The Devil at our Doorstep.  The events of the targeted attacks had a dramatic impact, not just on the organization, but on individual employees of EMS.

————————–

Murderers and terrorists can get free legal aid in this country – but not independent employees.  I wish I could say that we could rely on Washington to level the playing field for independent employees who do not want a union.  What I can say is that this situation will not change anytime soon…. especially given the massive flow of money from unions into the political system.

Several like-minded experts in the labor field have created an organization that will bring great change to this gross inequity.  It is a non-profit called the Center for Independent Employees (CIE).  It provides free legal services to employees who are opposed to unions and is the only one of its kind in the nation.  I do everything I can to support their efforts.

For the last eight years CIE has quietly helped the employees of nearly sixty companies become union-free.  But we have only been able to address a small fraction of the problem.  This is NOT due to the lack of solid cases but rather the lack of funds and therefore the resources to take them on.

Please consider two things.  First, please visit the CIE website and learn more about this organization.  I have no financial association with CIE, but as a member of the CIE Advisory Board, I very much agree with its noble cause.  The need for an organization like CIE has never been greater.  Please learn a little more about CIE by going to www.finallyjusticeforall.com (the username is “cie” and the password is “cie”).

Second, I would like to ask you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to CIE.  CIE is a non-profit that relies on donations to continue their important work.  Your donation will be completely anonymous and any amount helps.  Our goal is to raise $2 million per year so that we can handle at least another 50 cases this year.

Click Here to Download the Contribution Form

Everyday we have opportunities to help independent employees.  For this reason, we will make ourselves available to answer any questions you might have about CIE.  Additionally, if you know of other company leaders who believe, like you, that independent employees should have representation, please let me know.  I can be reached at devilatmydoorstep@emsinc.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Thank you for your consideration of this most important enterprise.

Regards,

Dave Bego

Author, The Devil at Our Doorstep

Michigan Kickoff

A couple of weeks ago, the Union Conservatives, a group of U.A.W. workers lead by Terry Bowman, hosted the Workplace Freedom Celebration to commemorate the inaugural day of Right-to-Work (“RTW”) in Michigan. It was truly a special kickoff for RTW  in a state known for being the union capital of the world. It was particularly special since the grassroots effort to pass RTW in Michigan came, not from politicians or from the the business community, but rather from U.A.W. members. These were members who were tired of labor boss intimidation and the misuse of membership dues for political purposes, not supported by its membership. It was a spectacle to behold, and brilliantly orchestrated by Terry and his courageous group of  fellow U.A.W. members.

I was privileged and honored, to be included as a speaker along with two brilliant headliners, President of The National Right To Work Committee, Mark Mix, and Director of  Labor Policy at The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Vinnie Vernuccio. As I listened to the opening remarks from Terry Bowman and the presentation of awards to those that made this moment in history possible, I could not help but reflect on the passage of RTW in my home state of Indiana approximately a year earlier and how two very similar bills had such dissimilar origins.

 CLICK HERE to see photos from the event!

In Indiana, the grassroots effort and groundswell for RTW originated in the business and political communities. Indiana Representative Jerry Torr, a businessman in his own right, started the process back in 2007 by introducing a RTW Bill and finally saw it come to fruition in February of 2012, with the support of the Indiana House led by Speaker Brian Bosma, the Indiana Senate led by Pro Tem David Long, and the strong backing of then Governor Mitch Daniels. I have been blessed to meet and be associated with these truly courageous and great men who led Indiana to being the 23^rd RTW State and the first in over ten years to pass such a measure. Passage of RTW was truly historical and a great leap forward for the protection and basic freedoms of employees and citizens of the great state of Indiana. Even more important, it awoke a sleeping giant that will hopefully become a tidal wave of “worker freedom” across the country!

As special as the passage of RTW was in Indiana, the dawn of RTW in Michigan is even more significant, as union members themselves started the ball rolling. I first became aware of  the Union Conservatives in the Spring of 2012. They were aware of my companies fight against the SEIU and of my stand against Big Labor intimidation of employees/employers and the misuse of membership dues all designed to achieve its political goals and rebuild its plummeting membership. They invited me to speak with them at a press conference on the steps of the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on March 29^th, 2012 in support of a RTW Bill for the protection of Michigan employees. I gratefully accepted and was honored to be among the union employees who spoke before the press and cameras that day. Despite the fact these brave union members gave wonderful speeches there was little coverage of the event in the local media. Furthermore, to my knowledge there was absolutely no coverage by the national media. The liberal press failed to realize that these brave young men would be the grassroots movement to convince the Michigan legislature to pass RTW in the Big Labor capitol of the world!

Almost exactly one year later, on March 28^th, 2013, I was proud to be included in this groups’ victory celebration! As I spoke that evening, telling my story of the SEIU’s forced unionism Corporate Campaign against my employees and my subsequent involvement in passage of RTW in Indiana, I felt compelled to congratulate them on a movement that succeeded, after employees woke up to labor boss abuses. I mentioned that I was encouraged that more and more of these grassroots movements were developing across the country, in states like Wisconsin, Missouri and even California.

- Stories chronicling such events can be found in The Devil at Our Doorstep. 

I stood emotional on the stage as I stated my firm belief that Americans at all levels were finally waking up to the goals of the Big Labor bosses and their political allies! More specifically, that people are beginning to realize that Big Labor and the current Administration share a combined objective to destroy capitalism and the Christian nation our founding fathers so thoughtfully created! In fact, this was the high point of my presence on stage, as the audience erupted into applause when I stated that Right to Work: Is A Basic American Freedom that is finally being recognized by Americans at all levels, and Michigan should be proud of its role!

Michigan is the beginning of a grassroots employee movement across the country to achieve employee rights and freedom not just from oppressive employers, but even more so from oppressive labor bosses and a supportive government. Congratulations Union Conservatives and Happy Michigan Right to Work Day!

Special Interview – TheBlaze TV

CLICK HERE to watch the Interview!

Tune in tonight at 7:00pm to see The Devil at Our Doorstep author Dave Bego in an exclusive interview with Andrew Wilkow featured on TheBlaze TV and TheBlaze.com.

Available to TheBlaze.com subscribers and shown on DISH Channel 212.

Union Conservatives – Workplace Freedom Celebration!

A night of Fun, Celebration, and Awards!!

Union Conservatives’ biggest fundraiser to date is also the biggest fundraiser event of the season!  Join us as we celebrate the first day freedom is ringing loudly throughout Michigan in workplaces everywhere!  Food and Drink to start; fun and awards to follow!

Event Info

Thursday – March 28th, 2013

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.  Cocktail Reception

7:00 – 9:15 p.m.  Awards Program & Keynote Speakers

Location:

Laurel Manor & Banquet Center
39000 Schoolcraft Rd., Livonia, Mi.  48150

Admission:

$25/person
$10/student
$20/union member  +  a free copy of ”Liberating Labor“

Tables and Sponsorships are available,  please call (734) 585-4901 for more information.

Book Signing by Dave Bego!!

Register today by clicking ‘here’ or go directly to: www.workplacefreedomcelebration.eventbrite.com

Are you ready to celebrate the effective date of Michigan’s new Freedom to Work law?  Are you ready to help us thank some of the most influential people responsible for making Michigan a Labor Freedom state?  Cocktail reception, celebration, and award presentation – who could ask for more?

The effective date of the new law is March 28th, and that is the date we will be celebrating!!

Come join us as we welcome Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, as he speaks about “The National Significance of Michigan becoming the 24th Right to Work state; Vinnie Vernuccio, Director of Labor Policy at The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, as he talks about what is happening now to protect workers who want to exercise their new rights and protections; and Dave Bego, author of ”The Devil at Our Doorstep”  will recap his encounters with abusive tactics by unions called “corporate campaigns.”

Time for Republicans to Go On the Offensive!

During my recent trip to Washington D.C. I was asked to speak to the Republican Whip Committee, a group of approximately 50 Republican U.S. House members charged with the responsibility of  preparing and securing support for passage of “priority” legislation. I used this time to provide the Whip Committee with the background of my battle against the SEIU  and the tactics the SEIU utilized against my company, employees, customers and family, and then drew the parallel to the tactics utilized by the current Administration and the Democratic Party to push forward their progressive agenda.  I concluded by encouraging the Committee to adopt the tactics that led us to victory — to go on the offensive; to make the opponent defend its lies; and to expose the misinformation, propaganda, coercion, intimidation and diversion tactics utilized to achieve their goals.

After briefly explaining my background and providing a short history of the SEIU’s use of thuggish tactics through a  Corporate Campaign in attempt to force unionize my employees by means of  Card Check, I then laid out our successful strategy. We were able to turn the tables by  utilizing the SEIU’s very tactics, but did it in a manner which did not sacrifice our integrity or professionalism. We went to the press, and exposed that the unions representations about how we mistreated employees were not true, but simply SEIU fabrications. In fact, we took out an advertisement, not only challenging the SEIU’s misinformation campaign, but challenging the SEIU to “put its money where its mouth is.”  We publicly agreed to to a secret ballot election where employees could vote their conscience without fear of intimidation or retaliation, knowing that they would wilt at the challenge.

We also accumulated significant evidence of SEIU engaging in conduct in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, and filed 33 “Unfair Labor Practice” charges (ULP’s) against them in one day.  By doing this, we confronted them with their own deplorable tactics, and forced them to defend their actions. Most importantly, we made a concerted effort to meet with all of our employees and our customers on site to explain our position and the reality of the SEIU propaganda, misinformation and its goal of elimination of their rights to a secret ballot election to decide if they desired SEIU representation. In essence, we developed a “big tent” approach to the problem — and it worked!  The people listened, they understood, and the SEIU disappeared!

I implored the Committee to take the same “big tent” approach with the Obama Administration. The President’s tactics are learned from his days as a community (a.k.a. union) organizer. They are learned directly from the SEIU (as explained in Time to Connect the Dots).

The time has come to expose the Rules of Obama Power War, which, like the SEIU tactics misinformation, misdirection, intimidation, coercion and diversions, are  all designed to put the Republicans on the defensive. Instead, the Republicans should stand tall and go on the offensive by burying Obama with investigations into his unconstitutional conduct (see Strategy: Bury Obama In Investigations).  Utilize the same strategy that EMS used when it filed the 33 ULP charges against the SEIU in one day!

I explained that just as Ralphie learned in the movie “A Christmas Story,” the bully only understands and responds to the punch in the nose!  Finally, the Republicans need to reach out to traditionally non-Republican groups, and to explain the reality of the President’s socialist designs and its impact upon their prosperity and freedom! They must do this again and again until the message resonates.

I sincerely hope I made an impact with this gracious and attentive group, as I truly believe that the future of this great nation is at stake and we must have representatives who are willing to stand up and fight for our survival; people who are willing to stand up to the abuse and be prepared for the political and financial cost it will take to save America by going on the offensive! In the days following my speech I began to notice an momentum towards and offensive, and then this past week  an article in the Wall Street Journal GOP Issues Scathing Self-Analysis attracted my attention and the attention of the nation. I was happy to see that the underlying theme and tactics proposed during my speech were entwined within the new direction laid out by the RNC. Now, we need our representatives to have the intestinal fortitude to take the fight to the Administration and its socialist cronies like the SEIU and other far left organizations and individuals who only care about themselves! It is time to take the offensive and save this great nation for our children, grandchildren and future generations!