Trends in Union Corporate Campaigns - US Chamber of Commerce

CONCLUSION
When we put all of these pieces together, it is evident that corporate
campaigns have not only endured and evolved over the past
30 years, but they have emerged as the primary mechanism by
which organized labor now confronts corporate management, especially
over issues of recruitment and organizing. And yet, these
campaigns operate for the most part outside of the established legislative
framework of labor-management relations in the United
States. They were neither contemplated in the law nor regulated
within its letter or intent.
From the perspective of organized labor, which sees itself as besieged
at every turn, this is among their principal appeals, for the
unregulated character of these campaigns provides the unions with
several tactical advantages, not least of which is a claim to be engaging
in protected forms of speech. From the perspective of the business
community, the fundamentally extortionate quality of these
campaigns, wherein a union seeks to intimidate the target company
but withdraws its pressure when the requisite concessions are offered,
represents their great challenge. And from the perspective
of the government, which has a legitimate interest in regulating
labor-management relations to protect the interests of workers as
well as the broader public interest, the growing reliance on these
campaigns may, within a relatively short time, render current legislative
frameworks ineffective or largely irrelevant.
To paraphrase Saul Alinky’s sixth rule for radicals, an effective
tactic is one that entertains those who engage in it. With respect
to the corporate campaign, one thing is quite clear. Only one side
is having fun.
Trends in Union Corporate Campaigns
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