Background

“Salting” is a coercive tactic where unions send professionally trained organizers into merit shop workplaces under the guise of seeking employment. These “salts” often attempt to execute campaigns designed to either force unionization on employees or put nonunion companies out of business.

Once hired, salts often try to create a toxic work environment by misleading co-workers and deliberately increasing costs through various actions, including workplace sabotage and frivolous discrimination complaints with various agencies. These actions cost companies significant time, money and resources, and prevent them from hiring more employees, investing in equipment and securing more work to grow the company and provide additional jobs in the community.

Desired Outcome

ABC will continue to work with the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to advance legislation, including the Start Applying Labor Transparency Act and the Truth in Employment Act, which promotes workplace transparency and counters the detrimental impacts of union salting.

The Start Applying Labor Transparency Act would amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and clarify that labor organizations and their consultants must report when they engage in salting. This change would ensure workers have the transparency they deserve and a fair environment to determine what is best for their workplace.

The Truth in Employment Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act to make clear that an employer is not required to hire any person who seeks a job primarily to organize employees or put nonunion companies out of business—or both. In doing so, the bill would alleviate the legal pressures imposed on employers to hire individuals whose overriding purpose for seeking a job is to disrupt the workplace or otherwise inflict economic harm.