received a call from a Steelworkers local across the border in Michigan which had i ts own drive going to organize another plant owned by the same company. Organizers from the Steelworkers made the t r ip to Ohio six times to help the UAW. Organizers said foundry employees were particularly excited about the plans for the Steelworkers, UAW, and Machinists to form a single union by the year 2000, believing tha t there would be greater power in numbers from belonging to a larger union.

The UAW won the election. The Steelworkers elec- tion has not yet been held, but UAW members have pledged to return the favor and travel to Michigan to assist the organizing drive.

Union Wins When Employer’s Threats Prove Hollow

During a UAW organizing drive a t auto parts maker SPX Contech in Dowagiac, Michigan, the company cam- paigned on the idea tha t voting for the union would jeopardize worker’s jobs. It said unionization could re- sult in the loss of supplier contracts. I t also pointed to another local company that was represented by the UAW when the company was sold to a different owner tha t moved jobs to Mexico. The company said tha t the same thing could happen at its plant. These tactics proved effective in the short run. The union lost an election in January 1996.

Subsequently, however, the UAW was able to win a new contract a t the other UAW-represented company that broughtjobs back from Mexico. The NLRB ruled that some of the company’s threats ofjob loss had been illegal; thus, the company was barred in the future from making some ofthe campaign statements i t had previously made.

At another election in March, the UAW won, and the NLRB’s Regional Director has recommended tha t the union be certified.

Supervisors’ Workshop

Job Performance Counseling Follow- Up

The following concludes our continuing series of articles on job performance counseling. The checklist below on following up a session of job perfbrmance counseling is adopted from one prepared by Manage-

ment Associated Results Company (MARC), a West Terre Haute, Indiana, management consulting firm.

I f the session reveals the need for additional training, follow up to make sure the training occurs, even if i t must be done one-on-one, within the time frame tha t the employee is expected to improve. If misconduct recurs, the supervisor must take ac- tion. This may be a follow-up counseling session or proceeding to formal discipline and corrective action, depending on the supervisor’s judgment and the employer’s corrective action policy. Repeated sessions ofjob performance counseling may be warranted when performance continues to im- prove but has not yet reached the desired standard. The supervisor should make i t clear, however, that counseling will not continue indefinitely and tha t disciplinary action may occur. When the employee’s performance improves, the su- pervisor should acknowledge the improvement, usu- ally in a brief meeting with the employee, and should make a note for the employee’s file documenting the improvement.

I I

Question & Answer

Q: A union has jus t started attempting to get our employees to sign authorization cards. Our attorneys have told us tha t we have a valid no-solicitation rule. However, we have occasionally allowed some instances of soliciting for charities on our premises. Does this mean we have undercut our no-solicitation rule and cannot enforce i t to bar solicitation for the union?

A: Some cases, such as Hammary FMG Corp., 265 NLRB 57, and Riesbeck Food Markets, 315 NLRB 940, seem to hold that an employer does not discriminate against a union when it enforcesits no-solicitation rule, but has previously permitted a few isolated instances of chari- table solicitation. Other cases warn that the Board may hold it an unfair labor practice to enforce a no-solicitation rule against a union when the employer has allowed charitable solicitations. Thus, the Board’s decisions ap- pear to be somewhat inconsistent, reflecting perhaps the fact that the makeup ofthe Board changes every few years.

The Board does not have a clear, bright-line rule tha t employers can easily rely on. If you enforce your no- solicitation policy and the union files an unfair labor practicecharge, theoutcome ofthe case willdependon the particular facts as well a s on legal interpretations made by the Board and, perhaps ultimately, a federal court. H

0 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

8 Management Report/September 1996