362WA3BiancaMcDonald

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1 Final Assignment: Response to Union Organizing Campaign Bianca McDonald University of Maryland Global Campus HRMN 362(6380): Labor Relations Professor Ross October 10 th , 2023

2 Brief Summary Email To: Director, Human Resources From: Bianca McDonald, Employee Relations Specialist Subject: Concerns in Mid-Atlantic Region, Unionization Greetings Director, I hope this message finds you well. I am emailing in regards to the rising dissatisfaction in employees in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Over the last 2-3 years approximately 125 employees have expressed specific concerns pertaining to wages, benefits, lack of opportunity for advancement, and heightened security controls implemented by management to control theft in the region. Employees are now talking about unionizing Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies, INC and are looking at these two unions: United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Employees from the Mid-Atlantic region have started to communication with colleagues at our other Wilson facilities to increase interest in unionization. To get the company up to speed I will be sending out a brief memo to all of Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies, INC. managers and supervisors explaining what they can and cannot do during unionization campaigns. It is important that we are all on the same page of the laws that protects us, and our employees. Additionally, I will be emailing the Human Resources department so my colleagues are aware of the situation occurring in Mid-Atlantic and the potential spread to the rest of the company. We will need to come up with strategies to address the major concerns pertaining to heightened security controls, lack of progression in the company, and unsatisfactory compensation program. Lastly, a meeting between Human Resource staff and Corporate Leadership Team will be scheduled to discuss current issues, applicable laws, goals, and strategies to combat specific concerns. I anticipate this being a significant benefit to prepare everyone at Wilson’s through these next stages. Best Regards, Bianca McDonald Employee Relations Specialist Brief Memo

3 Memo To: Managers and Supervisors From: Bianca McDonald, Employee Relations Specialist Subject: Unionization Hello Team, I am writing to inform you about what can and cannot be done by management during unionization campaigns. The purpose of this memo is to get everyone on the same page and prepare for the possibility of Wilson’s becoming unionized. It is important that employees who has shown interest in joining a union that they are not treated any different. Retaliation, coercion, and intimidation is severely prohibited during this process and very much illegal ( Employer/Union rights and obligations ). Take this time as an opportunity to open the lines of communication with our employees, and getting feedback on what we can do to improve the workplace. This is the time to be transparent, and respectful with communication while creating a safe place for employees to actively participate in union organization efforts. Remember this period at Wilson’s need to be handled carefully and positively. Please look at the attached PowerPoint document. I have provided a short presentation of the National Labor Board applicable laws that you all should be aware of going forward. It will have the primary legislation that is the foundation of union organizing, so it is important that you all get familiar with these laws. Additionally, please take notice of ULP ramifications from illegal actions by supervisors and managers. It is imperative that you all grasp this information because it would reduce risks of legal claims from our employees and a potential detriment to our reputation to our Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies, INC.

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4 consumers. If you have any ideas, or feedback please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to working with you all to achieve a common goal that is beneficial to everyone. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Best, Bianca McDonald P.S. Mac does not allow PowerPoint slides to be embedded into word documents. So, I have attached the additional PowerPoint link to the assignment folder. Apologize for the inconvenience. Brief Summary Email To: Human Resources Colleagues CC: Director, Human Resource From: Bianca McDonald, Employee Relations Specialist Subject: ACTION NEEDED Hi Team, I am emailing you all to bring everyone up-to-speed on the situation occurring in Mid-Atlantic. Employees are showing increasing signs of unrest, dissatisfaction with the working conditions, and considering unionizing. We need to be on top of this because employees are having company-wide correspondence to increase overall interest; both unions (RWDSU, UFCW) are both are waiting for a company majority. Consequently, team we need to strategize together ways we making the necessary changes at the Mid- Atlantic facility so that our employees will see that unionizing is ultimately not worth it. I am requesting you all to create a specific strategy to address the following concerns of employees:  Increased security controls from theft concerns in Mid-Atlantic region

5  Lack of career advancement/opportunities  Poor wages, limited benefits Please have these strategies available to share your strategy suggestions at the upcoming meeting next Tuesday. Please utilize all data available to get evidence to back your strategy (employee feedback surveys, records of theft, and performance metrics). Be advised that all HR staff, and Corporate Leadership team will be in attendance. Thank you everyone! Sincerely, Bianca McDonald Employee Relations Specialist Meeting Agenda Leadership Meeting Attendees: human resource department staff & corporate leadership team I. WELCOME Speaker: Bianca McDonald, Employee Relations Specialist conducted the greeting. Welcomed all members of both HR Department and Corporate Leadership. Thanked everyone for coming today and proceeded to goals of meeting. II. GOALS OF MEETING  Prepare Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies, INC. for potential unionization.  Discuss employee concerns in Mid-Atlantic region.  Provide strategies to remedy employee concerns with working conditions.  Learn about important employee protection laws for union organization.

6 III. CURRENT ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED Employee unrest & job dissatisfaction contributed by these factors: o Small pay raises over the last 2-3 years o limited benefits o lack of opportunites/career advancement o heightened security controls implemented by theft concerns IV. IMPLICATIONS FOR WILSON’S WACKY WHEELIES, INC. Employees are conducting company-wide union talks to garner interest in union organization efforts. The Mid-Atlantic region holds 125 of Wilson’s 600 employees, this is about 21% of our total workforce. If union organization spreads to other facilities and more employees show interest it may be impossible to reverse the process and Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies will be unionized company. Moreover, we need to meet our employees halfway, we must improve their conditions and provide their needs to improve their satisfaction. Their satisfaction is correlated to their engagement, it is vital that we elevate morale and focus on retaining our employees. V. LAWS TO KNOW FOR SUCCESS a) National Labor Relations Act -right to form and join union, requires 30% sign cards for secret election, requires the employer to bargain with union representative ( The law ). b) The Taft-Hartley Amendments Act- added a list of unfair labor conditions, more protections for employees. During union organization efforts management are not allowed to retaliate, coerce, or threaten employees ( 12.1 the nature of Unions ). VI. POSSIBLE STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS EMPLOYEE CONCERNS Poor wages and benefits concern : o Evaluate options the company can do that is fiscally within budget. Create a new wage and benefits program that includes verbaige that raises will be based on yearly

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7 performance appraisals. In order to address this concern management will need Wilson’s financial records to determine potential cost to give performance raises and increased benefits. External market analysis will provide data to cross-reference job titles and wages at other companies in the industry to ensure wages are competitive against competitors. Additionally, performance metrics will be used for performance management and conducting appraisals. Concerns on lack of career progression/advancement : o Create an employee development program. Strive to always use internal recruitment as a selection method. When position open, look internally first. This would should our employees that we value them. Additionally, we get the opportunity to retain top talent. Mentor promising employees and develop them to achieve career advancement in the company. In order to address this concern, we would need annual reviews on employees who has expressed a desire for career progression, create action plans with employees to reach goals that will further increase their mobility at Wilson’s. Performance metrics showing applicable skills would help human resources and management to determine which higher-leveled roles within the company can be filled by eligible internal employees. Concerns on heightened security controls : o Develop a “security-first” organizational culture at Wilson’s Wacky Wheelies, INC (Valera, 2019). Tailor current security controls to fulfill the needs of the company while actively considering employee’s privacy. This process will require that all moving parts (employees, management, HR, Corporate leaders) are involved and that is everyone’s responsible (Varela, 2019). The data needed for this are current security threats, and if it is physical and/or digital. It is important to do an Internal Analysis to determine which areas are prone to threats. Mid-

8 Atlantic region has been experiencing continuous theft so new policies focusing on levels of threats. Also, a deep dive of data research of inventory records or assets stolen by perpetrators would assist in choosing the best security controls (Nicasio, 2023). VII. ADJOURNMENT Bianca McDonald gave closing remarks and adjourned the meeting. Follow-up meeting scheduled for three weeks out. References Employer/Union rights and obligations . National Labor Relations Board. (n.d.). https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and- obligations

9 Katz, H. C., Kochan, T. A., & S., C. A. J. (2017). The Law and Legal Systems. In An introduction to U.S. Collective Bargaining and labor relations (p. 63). essay, Cornell University Press. The law . National Labor Relations Board. (n.d.-b). https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we- protect/the-law MRA. (n.d.). DOS and don’ts for supervisors during a union organizing campaign - MRA . MRA. https://www.mranet.org/system/files/2021-04/Dos-Donts-Supervisors-Union- Organizing-Campaign.pdf National Labor Relations Act . National Labor Relations Board. (n.d.-b). https://www.nlrb.gov/guidance/key-reference-materials/national-labor-relations-act Nicasio, F. (2023, September 20). How to establish security measures for retail stores operations and standards . Operations and Standards. https://blog.bindy.com/how-to-establish- security-measures-for-retail-stores/ University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing edition, 2016. This edition adapted from a work originally produced in 2011 by a publisher who has requested that it not receive attribution. (2016, March 22). 12.1 the nature of Unions . Human Resource Management. https://open.lib.umn.edu/humanresourcemanagement/chapter/12-1-the-nature-of-unions/ Varela, I. (2019, March 2). Why building a security first culture is business-critical . Converge. https://convergetechmedia.com/security-first-culture/

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