New bill would prohibit companies from voluntarily recognizing unions.

Apr. 2—Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) is looking to stop the flow of state incentives to any company that voluntary recognizes the union organization efforts of its employees.

President of the North Alabama Labor Council Jacob Morrison said that to understand the effects SB231 could have, you would first need to understand how local unions are formed.

Morrison said once 30% of a companies workers have signed a union authorization card they are able to call for a secret-ballot election either for or against unionization. As soon as that number crosses the 50% threshold, the election can be bypassed if the employer chooses to voluntarily recognize the majority decision.

SB231 would make any company which chose to do this ineligible for and grants, loans or tax credits from the state or local government. Any company that voluntarily recognizes a union and has already received any economic incentives would be required to repay the state.

Except Morrison said this almost never happens.

"I'm only aware of two instances within the last twenty years where a company has voluntarily recognized a union," he said.

One of those companies was the member led, non-profit organization Alabama Arise. In November 2023 100% of its staff members signed union authorization cards and last month the Local 3098 of the Communications Workers of America Union was officially recognized.

"As a pro-labor organization, voluntarily recognizing our staff union was an easy choice for Arise," Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said in a press release. "As a leader, I think our greatest accomplishment is supporting and growing leadership at all levels of our organization. I believe everyone has something to contribute to building a strong and healthy workplace, and I'm so proud of our staff for taking this step."

However, Morrison and Orr both agree that the case with Alabama Arise is the exception rather than the rule and that typically unions are formed under much more strenuous circumstances.

Orr did not return The Times' request for comment left with his office, but previously told Alabama Daily News that his understanding was, "many times in that environment when there's an organizing effort happening, there's a lot of cajoling, influencing, a lot of things going on from the organizers ... and perhaps it could be happening from the company side."

Morrison said safeguards to prevent this type of coercion already exist in the National Labor Relations Act. The law requires employers who voluntarily recognize a union to send their employees notice of that union's claims of majority support and inform those workers of their rights to contest those claims. If 30% of those employees oppose the decision it triggers an election. He said the picture Orr is painting of a typical, false stereotype of "union thugs" intimidating workers to gain members.

"The implication this bill is making is that unions are going out and getting recognized without majority support. That they are hanging people's heads over dumpsters and threatening them with baseball bats to get them to sign cards under duress. It's important that people know that there is already a process in which an employee can already make that known under the National Labor Relations Act," Morrison said. "The idea that unions are going around getting voluntary recognition under duress is just absurd."

According to a report published by the left-leaning think tank the Economic Policy Institute companies have been utilizing these safeguards more frequently. It found a 53% increase in the number of election petitions from October 2021 to September 2022. It also suggests nearly 60 million workers in the U.S. would like to join a union but have been unable to do so.

According to the National Labor Relations Board Database, the opposite of Orr's claims appear to be true. According to the database, almost every union election interference is committed by the employers and not the employees. A separate report from EPI found that according to its analysis of Labor Relations Board election data from 206-2017 and Unfair Labor Practice filings between 2015 and 2018, employers fired workers advocating for unionization in 20-30% of elections.

Orr's bill was filed in the midst of Alabama autoworkers' efforts to unionize two of the state's most successful auto manufacturings facilities, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Plant in Montgomery and the Mercedes-Benz Plant outside of Tuscaloosa. Gov. Kay Ivey took a swing at the Detroit-based United Auto Workers union, who have championed these efforts in an Op-Ed published in January.

In the piece Ivey describes the UAW as "an out-of-state special interest group" attempting to attack the successful auto-industry in Alabama.

"Unfortunately, the Alabama model for economic success is under attack. A national labor union, the United Automotive Workers (UAW), is ramping up efforts to target non-union automakers throughout the United States, including ours here in Alabama," Ivey said. "Make no mistake about it: These are out-of-state special interest groups, and their special interests do not include Alabama or the men and women earning a career in Alabama's automotive industry."

The recent unionization efforts of Alabama's autoworkers seem to contradict Ivey's statements. In January, workers at Mercedes announced that more than 30% had signed union authorization cards. Workers at Hyundai followed suit less than a month later. Union support has been quickly building and according to Morrison they have surpassed 50% support and are approaching a super-majority of 70%. Morrison said there has also been a growing interest to unionize from workers at a North Alabama Toyota manufacturing facility.

Alabama workers are not alone in their increased interest in union representation. The EPI report found that in 2017 nearly half (48%) of all non-union workers in the U.S. would like to unionize. Public support for unions has only increased since 2017. The report shows in 2022 public approval for unionization reached a 50-year high of 71%.

Morrison said much of the support in Alabama has come at the conclusion of UAW's successful 46-day Stand Up Strike which resulted in a potential 30% wage increase, a $5,000 ratification bonus, increased compensation for retirees and the elimination of a two-tiered wage system. He said the deal also required the auto-manufacturer Stellantis to reopen a previously idled facility in Belvidere, Ill. and for employees who had been laid-off when the plant closed to receive 70% of their salary until the plant reopens.

Ivey's op-ed continued to tout Alabama's success for attracting industries and expressed concern that an increased union presence may stifle those efforts.

"Alabama has a proud industrial past. Alabama is a leader in innovation and opportunity. It is a state where employers want to do business because they know they can succeed. and Alabama is a state that has proven it can be a worldwide leader in automotive manufacturing," she said. "Do you want continued opportunity and success the Alabama way? Or do want out-of-state special interests telling Alabama how to do business?"

Morrison did not dispute Ivey's claims of Alabama successfully marketing itself as a desirable location for worldwide industries, but he said it has done so at the expense of its workers.

"Alabama has really done a lot to cultivate the auto industry and we have done that the way the South has cultivated any industry, which is by our political and business elites going to these companies and saying 'Look, we don't have very many unions. You can pay our workers like crap. You can exploit them. You can make them work in unsafe working conditions. You can discriminate against them and we're not going to do anything about it.' All of these things are true, specifically as it refers to safety. The auto industry in the South is much more dangerous than it is in other parts of the country," he said.

After reviewing data collected from the Atlanta OSHA office, a 2017 Bloomberg report described the unsafe working conditions experienced by Alabama auto workers. It found that in 2010, workers in Alabama were 50% more likely to suffer from an on-the-job injury or illness than the parts industry's national average. In 2015 they were 65% more likely to lose a finger or a limb than workers in Michigan.

Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer said an increased union presence could have local ramifications. Greer has been involved in industry recruitment for more than 35 years and has seen the positive impact that the area's parts manufacturers have had. He said many of the projects he has helped recruit were attracted to Alabama's Right to Work laws and low union presence.

"Cullman has benefitted tremendously in industrial recruiting and expansion from marketing the community as a Right to Work State and a community with low union representation," Greer said.

Greer also said higher wages is one of the major points in attracting and retaining workers. While unions do fight for higher wages and benefits for their workers, Greer said wage growth was not exclusive to workers represented by a union.

"There are nationwide shortages of workers, including areas of the country with a heavy union presence. That would seem to imply higher union wages do not counter labor shortages. Wages have increased significantly in recent years and I think that is more a product of not having enough people," he said.

Morrison said the bill is unlikely to curtail unionization efforts through elections — which saw a 71% win increase last year according to the EPI report — but was simply adding more red tape to the process. He also said he is nearly certain that if approved, SB231 would be challenged in courts.

"This would disincentivize a perfectly legal process under federal law. I'm fairly certain it is unconstitutional but I am positive that it will be contested in courts which will cost Alabama taxpayers millions of dollars unnecessarily," he said.