Contact: Tony Montana – (412) 562-2592 or tmontana@usw.org
PITTSBURGH–The United Steelworkers (USW) today condemned HCL Technologies, Ltd., for coercing employees into mandatory meetings aimed at defeating the workers’ campaign to organize a union and bargain collectively for better, more secure jobs at Google’s Bakery Square offices.
Last month, more than 66 percent of roughly 80 eligible HCL employeessigned cards indicating their desire to be represented by a union, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) scheduled a representation electionfor Sept. 24, 2019.
Since then, HCL has enlisted Eric Vanetti of “Vantage Point Alliance,” a controversial management consultant who gained notoriety in March 2018 for playing a role when Fuyao Glass defeated a union organizing campaign at its facility in Moraine, Ohio, as documented in the filmAmerican Factory.
“We have vast experience after decades of negotiating fair contracts for many thousands of members who work for multinational corporations,” said USW International President Thomas M. Conway, “but in its drive to avoid bargaining in good faith with its employees in America, HCL, like Fuyao, is resorting to the same tactics employers have used for 100 years.”
Conway said “captive audience” meetings like those HCL coerced employees into attending typically begin with managers talking about how they prefer resolving conflicts “within the family” and without a union to advocate on the workers’ behalf. Generally, the company’s behavior evolves into bullying individuals or groups of workers if support for the union persists.
“We are a modern, international union with strategic partnerships around the world and members in every sector of the economy, including a variety of professional workers, from pharmacy technicians to university professors,” he said. “We are proud of the respectful and productive relationships the USW has established with employers and various industry groups through almost 80 years.”
HCL employees will cast secret ballots at the East Liberty branch of the Carnegie Library between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2019. The votes will be counted and results available immediately, but the NLRB has its own process for certifying the election.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector, health care, academic, tech and service occupations.