Documents have surfaced revealing the tactics employed by companies against immigrants during union campaigns. In 2020, workers at United Scrap Metal in Philadelphia were striving to form a union at their recycling company. In an effort to defeat the campaign, the company hired “union avoidance” firm Chessboard Consulting. A bilingual consultant named Mike Rosado was provided by the firm to dissuade the mainly immigrant workers from joining a union. The company even furnished Rosado with spreadsheets containing personal information about each worker, such as their names, addresses, and fluency levels in Spanish and English.
Furthermore, the spreadsheets grouped workers who lived together or carpooled, many of whom had ties to their home countries of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. This made them potentially influential in encouraging their relatives or roommates to vote against the union. The spreadsheets were color-coded to indicate each worker’s level of union support. Rosado expressed particular concern about “questionable” workers, hoping to sway one or two of them towards voting against the union.
These leaked documents shed light on the tactics used by employers and their external consultants to undermine union efforts, especially when it comes to organizing immigrant workers. Organizing immigrant laborers presents unique challenges due to language barriers, unfamiliarity with collective bargaining in the US, and fears of challenging employers’ control, especially for undocumented workers and their families.
To defeat the union at United Scrap, the company and its consultants devised a plan to create flyers comparing the union to oppressive leaders from Latin American countries. United Scrap President Brad Serlin embraced this idea, suggesting that the flyers question whether the union leaders truly cared about the people and their families. Although Serlin seemed uncertain about whether the current leaders of these countries were good or bad, he believed illustrating past bad leaders was essential.
The Hispanic workforce in the US has significantly grown in recent decades, making it a target for both union organizing and “union avoidance” practices. Consultants who cater to the language and cultural backgrounds of immigrant workers are increasingly being employed by companies to counter union campaigns. These consultants often depict collective bargaining as intimidating to the workers, emphasizing the differences between labor laws in their home countries and the US.
In some cases, employers spend exorbitant amounts of money on consultants to discourage unions, even while workers are simply requesting minor improvements, such as modest raises or better working conditions. For example, at El Milagro, a tortilla manufacturer in Illinois, workers staged a walkout demanding improved safety conditions. The company hired labor consulting firm Government Resources Consultants of America, which then subcontracted persuaders to work on-site.
Overall, these leaked documents underscore the lengths to which employers will go to prevent workers from organizing into unions, particularly when it comes to immigrant workers. They highlight the importance of addressing language barriers, educating workers about their rights in collective bargaining, and empowering immigrant workers to overcome their fears and challenge employer control.
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