Name: Katy Watkins's review of Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin Jay Levitt
Item: Confessions of a Union Buster
Rating: 2
Author: Katy Watkins

Martin Jay Levitt

Terry Conrow Toczynski

New edition of the 1993 book that detailed the horrendous tactics employers and union busters will use to stop workers from forming unions. Paperback version.

New Activist Edition

Confessions of a Union Buster

Katy Watkins

Companies wishing to save some money and avoid the antagonism generated during a representation election campaign can answer "Yes” and agree to recognize the union by checking the authorization cards in the presence of a neutral witness, thereby acknowledging that the union represents the majority of workers. It's very simple, and it's very cheap. And it's almost never done. Why? Because bosses don't want to negotiate with their workers, that's why.

The executives we worked with generally were in a state of panic about the union drive, and Sheridan taught us to exploit their fear for maximum profit. Because of their hatred and fear of the union—and their belief that we were their only hope—our clients were at our mercy.

The law states that management consultants only have to file financial disclosures if they engage in certain kinds of activities, essentially attempting to persuade employees not to join a union or supplying the employer with information regarding the activities of employees or a union in connection with a labor relations matter. Of course, that is precisely what anti-union consultants do, have always done. Yet I never filed with Landrum-Griffin in my life, and few union busters do. Here's why not: According to the law, in order to be engaged in "persuader” activities, the consultant must speak directly to the employees in the voting unit. As long as he deals directly only with supervisors and management, he can easily slide out from under the scrutiny of the Department of Labor, which collects the Landrum- Griffin reports.

It so happens that the NLR Act, the bible of collective bargaining, can be a union buster's best friend. In its complexity the nation’s fundamental labor law presents endless possibilities for delays, roadblocks, and maneuvers that can undermine a union's efforts and frustrate would-be members.

I’m very glad this book exists, it was certainly eye-opening. But it could probably have been edited down, and it contained so many typos and egregious mistakes (like copying the same sentence twice in a row) that I can’t understand how it was published at all. The fact that I finished the book and gave it more than half a star is a testament to the principle of the content only.  

Katy Watkins &
Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin Jay Levitt

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Katy Watkins &Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin Jay Levitt

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Katy Watkins &
Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin Jay Levitt