What "Neutrality" Means

In 2002, after a painful two-day strike, Johnson Controls signed a "neutrality agreement" with the UAW. The capitulation was also motivated by heavy pressure from JCI's biggest customers, which have signed neutrality agreements of their own in order to win other contract concessions from the Union.

Traditionally, "neutrality" meant that an employer would agree not to oppose a union's attempts to organize its employees, nor attack or disparage the union in any way.

Neutrality, UAW-style

Today's neutrality agreements with the UAW go much farther. While the actual Neutrality Agreement between JCI and the UAW has never been made available to us, the best information available indicates that, in addition to promising not to be negative, oppose, or delay the Union's campaign, JCI has had to promise not to make ANY statement or representation about the effects or results of union representation.

Like other neutrality agreements signed by companies in the recent past, we have to assume that JCI will have to...

• provide the UAW with a list of all employees, with names, location, home phone number, and home address
• provide the UAW with access to employees (that means meetings on company time)
• permit employees to distribute union literature, and
• allow employees to communicate with each other about the union, directly and through company vehicles like e-mail and interoffice mail.

That's right — the UAW will soon, if it doesn't already, have your name, phone number, and address courtesy of JCI.

In addition, though the neutrality agreement has not been shown to employees, we have to assume that the UAW — not JCI, JCI employees, or the National Labor Relations Board — sets the terms of the campaign.

• The UAW designates the bargaining unit — that is, who's in and who's out, and
• The UAW decides whether the campaign will be decided by NLRB election, private election, or card check.

Card Check

In ordinary circumstances, the Union authorization card only serves to prove to the NLRB that a majority of employees have indicated their willingness to consider union representation.

Under "card check" the Union can be declared bargaining representative WITHOUT an election, simply on the basis of signed cards. There is no election, no secret ballot, no time for discussion or debate, and no appeal.

More on card check from The Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

See Neutrality or Gag Order? You Decide