Adrianne Shropshire

The Anti-Union Network

In the past few years we've noticed an increasing attack on unions and the members that they represent. From ballot initiatives in California, to paid advertisement in the NY Times, to highly effective framing and messaging in the media, someone seems to have it in for unions.

But now thanks to American Rights at Work we know a little more about the source of these attack. ARAW recently launched a new website called The Anti-Union Network, the purpose of which is to identify and provide clear information about the institutions and individuals that are undermining workers' rights in America. Groups like the Center for Union Facts, the National Right to Work Committee, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are among those profiled at the new site.

The folks at ARAW recognize that the attacks, whether targeted at public or private sector unions, aren't single isolated events but a coordinated approach to shift public consciousness and erode support for the labor movement. "... it's the result of a decades-long plan from right-wing ideologues bent on dismantling labor organizations responsible for advancing the social and economic interests of America's workers”. The approach is an attempt to effect not only the general publics perception but the perception of workers themselves (organized and unorganized) and equally important the perception of policy makers and opinion leaders.

Union-busting takes many forms. We recognize it when it's a consultant brought in to help a company keep their workers from organizing, we recognize it when companies bring in "replacement workers" when the permanent workers are out on strike trying to maintain the quality of their jobs, and we recognize it when workers are help captive by their bosses who threaten them with their jobs if they so much as look at a union organizer. But this form of highly financed, ideologically-based, think tank-styled union busting is virtually unseen.

Tens of millions of unorganized American workers want to have a union. They understand the truth about why unions are important and they see through the highly exaggerated "research" of organizations like the Center for Union Facts. Policy makers and those in the mainstream media should think twice about the source before they factor in to their decision making and reporting, information that reflects not the opinions of working people but the self-interests of the private sector.

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Posted at 10:31 AM, Sep 27, 2006 in Labor
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