http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/2/715807/-Another-Day,-Another-Worker-Fired-For-Trying-to-Form-A-Unionby PaulVA
Thu Apr 02, 2009 at 11:00:31 AM PDT
Even as a Gulf War veteran who served as a forward observer in the 82nd Airborne, Mike Malarchik never experienced the kind of day in and day out adversity that he went through during an organizing campaign at the door manufacturer he worked at in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Mike was a long time employee at the company, having worked there for seven years after he left the military. He was considered one of the company’s most loyal employees, respected for his work ethic and made into a hybrid of a lead employee and a supervisor, trusted with access to all the offices and automobiles on site.
Mike never let the company down with his hard work, but the company let him down when he took a stand for his fellow workers. He was one of two employees at his workplace who initially contacted SMWIA Local 199 about organizing a union. The workers complained about mangers that harassed employees about overtime while used temp workers on the line who were worked right up until the end their 80 day probationary period when they were terminated.
Within days of the start of the organizing campaign, 95 percent of the workers at the workplace signed cards with the intent of being represented by Local 19. This momentum continued right up to the point when management found out about what was going on, and pulled out all the stops in an attempt to stop their employees in their tracks.
Milarchick noticed something was wrong when company managers became unusually friendly with the workers. Workers who were never noticed were invited out by managers and questioned about their union sympathies. After an account of where everyone stood was made, supervisors were instructed to harass and interrogate workers who were considered pro-union or on the fence. On many occasions, management supervisors noted how the company would have to close down if forced to deal with a workers employed under a union contract. Other workers were faced with groups of managers who would team up on them. They threatened them with layoffs and reminded them time and time again about the state of the economy in the Lehigh Valley where the company would be "forced" to deny their unemployment benefits if anything undesirable were to happen.
During this time, another employee who led the effort with Mike to start the organizing campaign was promoted and made into a supervisor. He invited Mike out to an offsite meeting and, after patting him down for a tape recorder, told him the company had big plans for him with a promotion and a generous pay raise. All Mike needed to do was meet with the other workers and tell them the company would make things better, but only if they voted against the union.
FULL story at link.
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