Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Mich. union-busters go right into action

Teamsters protest Jackson Lewis last year.
The union-busting law firm Jackson Lewis started drummiing up business in Michigan less than a week after an anti-union law was railroaded through the lame-duck Legislature.

You may recall Jackson Lewis as the law firm that failed miserably in its attempt to help a German company destroy American jobs. Then it got busy trying to help the rich entitled jerks at Sotheby's destroy more American jobs. 

On Dec. 18, Jackson Lewis held a free Internet seminar on "Michigan’s New “Right to Work” Law – A Webinar Explaining How the Statute Affects Your Business."

If you want look into the heart of darkness, you can click here to view the webinar.

We actually had the stomach to watch it. We weren't surprised to hear the kind of union-baiting rhetoric that goes all the way back to the racist origins of the right-to-work movement.

Participants were told to train their supervisors in using the law to weaken unions -- or as they put it, "communicating pro-actively on the implications of the new law." You couldn't quite hear them salivating as they described the litigation they expect to result from the new statute. The seminar ended with a promise that they'd return soliciting more business:
...we will poll our offices in right-to-work states for additional insight. we will also have a program covering right-to-work developments.
There's one thing the Teamsters and Jackson Lewis lawyers can agree on: The new law will tear Michigan apart. Said one of three (we couldn't quite tell if it was Tom Barlow, Roderick Gillum or Maurice Jenkins):
(it) creates a very difficult situation where that partnership between management and unions has proven itself to be effective.
...to pressure to remain in the union or get out of the union: there's no q the sides on this issue are pretty strong in their beliefs. it's more philosophical...
One more thing: They were clearly uncertain how long the new RTW4Less laws will last as efforts are being made to reverse them. Said Barlow: 
...projecting the likelihood of success is pretty daunting.