Step by Step Through a Union Campaign

At the first sign of union organizing, company management often decides to do “whatever is necessary to defeat the union,” as one corporate vice president put it. Without advance thought or preparation, the company launches a policy of resistance and often winds up before the National Labor Relations Board charged with unfair labor practices. Sometimes […]

by

William E. Fulmer

by

William E. Fulmer

From the Magazine (July 1981)

A union organizing campaign may look like a brief process of exchanging a few simple letters and handbills and holding an election that quickly settles the issue. But a union campaign is actually a fairly long process that usually goes through the following stages.

A version of this article appeared in the July 1981 issue of Harvard Business Review.

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Mr. Fulmer is associate professor of human resources management at the University of Alabama’s Graduate School of Business. He has done extensive research on union campaigns and is currently completing a book on the subject. He has written one other HBR article—“When Employees Want to Oust Their Union” (March–April 1978).

Step by Step Through a Union Campaign

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