Is Labor Unrest a Communications Problem?

Frequently, Hennes Communications is engaged by an organization to help explain policies, procedures and situations put in place to address past miscommunications, disputes or illegal activities. One example:  a manager found manufacturing bombs in his office (as you might imagine, this was definitely contrary to corporate policy).  If humans do it, we’ve probably seen it.

Almost always, we work closely with the organization’s outside attorney or corporate counsel.  With that in mind, we recently came across a thoughtful piece by attorney Stuart Fischer who wrote:  “The conventional wisdom is that labor unions are on the wane and that union power is disappearing.  But for businesses that have unhappy workers and are facing an organizing campaign, the conventional wisdom is wrong.  In fact, the ability of a union to gain a foothold at a company is usually less about the clout and skill of union organizers and more about the failure of managers to connect with their people.”