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Last year I was part of a union campaign. Over 80% of my fellow employees signed union cards. The large company I worked for sent in the biggest union busting law firm nationally known. They have ties within the NLRB and had former employees from the NLRB working for them.
The first thing the union busters did was divide us into small groups of undecideds, pro union, and anti union employees mixed with undecideds. They bribed employees with easy work days and breakfast. They also promised employees promotions to spy on union activities.
As a researcher I knew every move the union busters made before they even made it. I informed fellow employees of these tactics but was ignored. 1 by 1 employees began to change their minds. I began to see the shift early and I knew that this drive had no chance of passing.
So I made a decision. I decided to support the union anyway. I knew what the repercussions were because the company I worked for was extremely anti union. Amazon anti union. I made a stand. I decided to do what was right regardless of the repercussions.
Long story short the union did not pass. The support count completely flipped to 80% of employees against the union. A week after the vote the company began to retaliate. The funny part is they really went hard at the undecideds. Then they came for me.
I was disciplined with frivolous disciplinary actions. Pulled in the office constantly as expected. But unlike my fellow employees I fought back. I reported them to the NLRB. Then they decided to discipline me for being out on a covid related issue.
I reported them to the state and retained an attorney. They got in huge trouble and the state threatened to shut down operations. I was brought back into the office and they apologized. They then promoted me. Soon after other undecideds were terminated unjustly.
They didn't fight back. Everytime they got pulled into the office for disciplinary action they just took it. I understood their dilemma. Most of them needed their jobs to feed their families.
The undecideds were promised many things during the union busting campaign.
The undecideds were promised many things during the union busting campaign.
But they got it the worst by management. Management would tease them and reneged on all their promises for the no votes. My point is, I knew mid into the union drive that it most likely would not pass. The pro union employees didn't work hard and were easily bribed and divided.
But I decided to still fight. I decided to still fight back after the company began to retaliate. The reason why I got promoted was because even though the company hated me, I forced them to respect me. I would not let them scare me or intimidate me. They knew I was pro union.
They respected the fact that I would fight and not give up. They knew that I would hit back. They declared war on their employees and I was the only one who fought back. I lost but I really won. This is the point I'm trying to make. Nothing is easy.
I know there is a lot of drama concerning #ForceTheVote. Once allies have become enemies. Some bad faith actors have exposed themselves. Others are undecideds. And others are afraid of the potential consequences of this strategy.
Great accomplishments will always require great risks. Your enemies will fight you. Your enemies will try to bribe you. Your enemies will separate you into small groups and pin people against each other. Your enemies will try to confuse you. Your enemies will try to ridicule you.
But always remember. You will only be respected by your enemies if you fight back. STRATEGY is a good thing. But over strategizing does not help when the clock is ticking. Fighting back is the only way you will have a chance to win even if you know you will lose.
Because not fighting back will always bring you no chance of winning. Just my thoughts. Feel free to disagree. Peace and love. #ForceTheVote
#MedicareForAll
#MedicareForAll
