THE SALT…COVERT & DECEIT IN UNION ORGANIZING

Salting is the process where the union organizer applies for a job at a non union facility and injects themselves in to the workforce with the primary goal to persuade the other workers and organize them. To be clear, this SALT is getting paid by the company as a worker and still receiving a salary by the union. In addition, the SALT can also be a pro union mole who is working multiple jobs for the union in attempts to unionize the workers. In both instances, the SALT’s are receiving double pay and possibly even bonuses to organize the workers.

SALT’s deliver a pro-union message, get vital information and report EVERYTHING back to the union. No information is too private or confidential. Other information the SALT’s obtain include things like Org Charts, Personnel Files, Site Diagrams, Policies & Procedures, Handbooks, employee information such as job titles and contact information, financial statements and even security schedules and routes.

A SALT can pose as any job title within an organization. For example, there could even be management that are really SALT’s. SALT’s are usually the best of workers and it is very difficult to distinguish which person is the SALT. Though on union payroll, the company cannot validate the SALT until financials are filed by the union and even then, most times the payments are hidden in contributions or just added to the salary of the worker. By the time the financials are filed, the camapign is long over anyway and the SALT is off to the next target. If SALT’s remain in the facility long enough, they can even vote if they are posing as an eligible worker.

What does all of this mean? It means that the union can be part of covert espionage and it is illegal. The irony is that a consultant hired by management to talk to employees are required to file Department of Labor reports called LM 20’s. As per the D.O.L, “…Every person, including a labor relations consultant, who enters into an arrangement with an employer under which he or she undertakes activities where an object thereof is, directly or indirectly, to: persuade employees about exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively, or obtain information about the activities of employees or a union in connection with a labor dispute involving the employer (except information solely for administrative, arbitral, or court proceedings)…”

Does this sound familiar? The same guidelines should apply to the SALT. The SALT is there on behalf of the union to persuade employees to join the union. They should be held to the same standard as the labor consultant. It is time for this to change and for consultants to change rules to apply to both parties or apply to neither of them. Many unions are utilizing SALT’s in larger proportions these days. For example, the IWW in Oregon has utilized many SALT’s to organize small units. At a hospital system in Albany NY, SALT’s were not just there in numbers, but were also there for many years. It is of no surprise that unions won over 80 % of elections in the month of July, 2019.

For more information please go to https://laboradvisors.com or email us at brooke@laboradvisors.com.