President Barack Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is considering a rule that would force private businesses to turn over their workers’ personal information — such as phone numbers, email addresses, and work schedules — to union organizers.
While this rule would be intended to make it easier for union bosses to organize workers at businesses that do not have a union presence, it would also have the unintended effect of making workers vulnerable to harassment.
The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk argued this will allow union organizers to bother workers even after the worker tells an organizer “no” by bombarding them with phone calls, emails, and visits to their home.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has already said unions would demand card-check legislation from Obama during his second term. Card-check would essentially end secret ballot elections and force workers to vote on whether or not to join a union in front of their colleagues and union bosses, making them more susceptible to peer pressure, harassment, and intimidation.
In addition, the Labor Department is considering forcing “companies to reveal relationships with so-called union-busting consulting companies even if the companies have no contact with workers.” Such a rule could deter these consulting firms from working with private businesses to combat unions.