Then we have the pleasantly-named “labor relations” law firms. Take Jackson Lewis,
for example, a 50-year old firm specializing in “preventive strategies
for the workplace.”  These attorneys use their understanding of the law
to help employers get out of allegations about tricky issues like “reductions in force,” and the “complex laws governing hours of work and payment of wages.”
Now, maybe payment of wages is more complicated than I thought, but the
fact that this firm continuously stresses their dedication to
protecting “management rights” makes me doubt that they are
doing anything other than trying to find legal justification to cheat
workers out of what they deserve.

Best of all “Jackson Lewis has assisted many employers in winning NLRB elections or in avoiding union elections altogether.” And they offer classes, at $695 a pop on “How to stay union free!” The most shocking part of this for me, is that they advertise it all so blatantly on their website.

Employers go to incredible lengths to avoid having a conversation with their workers. And that is the main
purpose of a union: to serve the workers as a collective voice to
represent them and their interests in the negotiation of a contract. Employers
who are not willing to negotiate a contract with their workers are not
interested in considering the needs and interests of the people who are
doing the hard work to generate profit for the industry. They give
their workers the bare minimum of industry standards, and often they
aren’t held accountable, even when they break the law.

Like the management at Smithfield Foods, for example, in North
Carolina. They have abused their workers’ rights time and again, firing
injured employees and refusing to pay workers’ compensation, and
stirring up racial tensions among employees to prevent them from coming
together. The workers have resisted these abuses
and have been trying to form a union since 1993. In retaliation,
Smithfield hired its own factory police force to intimidate and
threaten workers. Pro-union workers have been harassed and fired, and
two were even beaten up, handcuffed, and arrested. Human Rights Watch has condemned Smithfield in two separate reports for its abuses of international human rights standards.

Why this vicious battle? Because they refuse to share any power with
their employees by acknowledging their internationally-recognized right
to freedom of association. Smithfield wants complete control over its
workforce.