Union Strike Question

[EACarlson]

With the strikes going on and the ones that are being threatened I have a question I'm hoping someone here can answer. At what point does the employer have the right to move on from the union and replace the striking workers? I'm not looking for any political statements for or against unions.

 

[tony67]

I think they could do that any time they want to - but the folks that cross the line will be blacklisted from the union pretty much forever.

Crossing the picket line is probably not a good idea - and then they bring in the giant inflatable rat and it just open a big can of worms.

Also - at this point it seems to be profitable for the studios to not be paying - so they are probably not negotiating in good faith. Its all very complicated.

Now if they replace them with AI then that is a different story - and to be honest would the AI writers be any worse?
that said if they did that then other unions will stop working with you - maybe the teamsters for example - then you have a big headache.

 

[jimmymc]

The company always has the ability to replace workers. The idea with unions is that if you can get all the good workers in one, then the company would be better off meeting the union demands than paying for replacements. Not sure which industry you're specifically talking about, but there are non-union actors, writers, and other movie/TV industry workers.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Hollywood (assuming that's what OP is referring to) is BUILT on unions. Nearly every job on a film set is unionised. If the studios simply replace the actors and writers, good luck getting gaffers, camera people, electricians to work for your set. Drew Barrymore essentially has given herself a horrible name in the industry because she scabbed. Hopefully no one else will.

If the object of a strike is to obtain from the employer some economic concession such as higher wages, shorter hours, or better working conditions, the striking employees are called economic strikers. They retain their status as employees and cannot be discharged, but they can be replaced by their employer. Like someone else said, a strike and what happens during is a very complicated process and also varies by industry, for example, my CBA has a no-strike clause. It doesn't mean we wouldn't go wildcat at some point if pushed but it would take a lot. If we did go on strike, would the state come in and replace all the professors? Highly unlikely but they could try. The last teacher strike in Mass. was a wildcat that lasted 2 days before management gave in. So the tactic can work.

 

[EACarlson]

Hollywood (assuming that's what OP is referring to) is BUILT on unions. Nearly every job on a film set is unionised. If the studios simply replace the actors and writers, good luck getting gaffers, camera people, electricians to work for your set. Drew Barrymore essentially has given herself a horrible name in the industry because she scabbed. Hopefully no one else will.

If the object of a strike is to obtain from the employer some economic concession such as higher wages, shorter hours, or better working conditions, the striking employees are called economic strikers. They retain their status as employees and cannot be discharged, but they can be replaced by their employer. Like someone else said, a strike and what happens during is a very complicated process and also varies by industry, for example, my CBA has a no-strike clause. It doesn't mean we wouldn't go wildcat at some point if pushed but it would take a lot. If we did go on strike, would the state come in and replace all the professors? Highly unlikely but they could try. The last teacher strike in Mass. was a wildcat that lasted 2 days before management gave in. So the tactic can work.

Not specifically the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Partially but also including the UAW strike that is probably going to happen tomorrow night and the SW pilots' strike that looks increasingly probable at some point.
If say UAW goes on strike against GM, GM can replace the employees, what happens if those employees cross the picket line and try to come back to work? If GM replaced the employees than there may not necessarily be openings.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Not specifically the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Partially but also including the UAW strike that is probably going to happen tomorrow night and the SW pilots' strike that looks increasingly probable at some point.
If say UAW goes on strike against GM, GM can replace the employees, what happens if those employees cross the picket line and try to come back to work? If GM replaced the employees than there may not necessarily be openings.

When workers go on strike, a company can legally hire temporary workers in their stead for the time that the strike is going on. However, once both parties reach an agreement and the strike ends, the temporary workers must be let go so that any worker who wants to return to work can do so.

Don't forget though that the UAW is one of the largest unions in the country, so attempting to replace all of those workers with temps would be a logistical nightmare. It is more in management's best interest to try and resolve the strike and come to an agreement.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not specifically the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Partially but also including the UAW strike that is probably going to happen tomorrow night and the SW pilots' strike that looks increasingly probable at some point.
If say UAW goes on strike against GM, GM can replace the employees, what happens if those employees cross the picket line and try to come back to work? If GM replaced the employees than there may not necessarily be openings.

The SWA strike shouldn't be treated the same IMO because that is under the level of governmental control as in the President has the authority to force the strike to not occur or end it so it probably would be moot talking about what the company may do or maybe it's more like what the company would do would be the least of the worries.

I'm trying to remember what occurred at during the GM strikes here when my sister-in-law was working there several years back, the strikers actually physically prevented people from leaving and entering the plant here but I can't remember if people were actually let go of the company.

 

[EACarlson]

When workers go on strike, a company can legally hire temporary workers in their stead for the time that the strike is going on. However, once both parties reach an agreement and the strike ends, the temporary workers must be let go so that any worker who wants to return to work can do so.

Don't forget though that the UAW is one of the largest unions in the country, so attempting to replace all of those workers with temps would be a logistical nightmare. It is more in management's best interest to try and resolve the strike and come to an agreement.

That's assuming an agreement is reached. I think we're coming up to a point where there will not be an agreement. One side or the other will make a demand that is untenable for the other side and not come off of it. I think the UAW may be at that point if they are truly as inflexible in their demands as the president has stated.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When workers go on strike, a company can legally hire temporary workers in their stead for the time that the strike is going on. However, once both parties reach an agreement and the strike ends, the temporary workers must be let go so that any worker who wants to return to work can do so.

Don't forget though that the UAW is one of the largest unions in the country, so attempting to replace all of those workers with temps would be a logistical nightmare. It is more in management's best interest to try and resolve the strike and come to an agreement.

According to my sister-in-law who worked for GM plenty of people were already temporary workers, they would go on unemployment for a while then get rehired again when work was needed. Sounded like a strange system to me but I guess that was fairly commonplace there.

 

[EACarlson]

The SWA strike shouldn't be treated the same IMO because that is under the level of governmental control as in the President has the authority to force the strike to not occur or end it so it probably would be moot talking about what the company may do or maybe it's more like what the company would do would be the least of the worries.

I think SWAPA has some very valid claims and the NRLA gives more bumps to getting to a strike, but I could also see SW seeing what would happen, they do have a history of doing things differently than other airlines.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Regan was the best at handling unions!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

According to my sister-in-law who worked for GM plenty of people were already temporary workers, they would go on unemployment for a while then get rehired again when work was needed. Sounded like a strange system to me but I guess that was fairly commonplace there.

They may also send their corporate employees to a few key locations to perform the work. Been there, done that. And it hurt the UAW’s negotiating power because productivity and quality went up at those locations.

 

[CamillaF]

Really good points above. I also wanted to point out that while anyone can strike and any employer can hire someone to replace the employee. It really boils down to who has more leverage. In the car industry there is a lot of un sold inventory so the company can go a lot longer than the employees can without a pay check. If the inventory was lower the union would have more leverage. Last time the writers striked we ended up with reality TV. I really hope that we don't end up with only AI written material.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Really good points above. I also wanted to point out that while anyone can strike and any employer can hire someone to replace the employee. It really boils down to who has more leverage. In the car industry there is a lot of un sold inventory so the company can go a lot longer than the employees can without a pay check. If the inventory was lower the union would have more leverage. Last time the writers striked we ended up with reality TV. I really hope that we don't end up with only AI written material.

I think the inventory situation is much different than it is now. Right around me it seems like we can get vehicles a lot better than we could in 2021 but according to other threads people are really struggling with inventory and their area is a lot like it was for us in 2021. Chip shortages are still impacting as well. It's not quite like it was in 2021 where cars were sitting in mass lots just awaiting chips but it also doesn't mean they are operating on a lot of inventory to hold off.

The last strike for GM in 2019 it says they had roughly 83 days of inventory at the beginning of the strike. I'm not sure what they have now but the conditions are nowhere near the same as in 2019.

I have no idea if this actually creates more leverage for union workers because if cars aren't sold or produced for long enough those workers will be out of a job anyhow. I think due to the last strike or maybe before it happened the 3rd shift was eliminated from the GM plant here.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Really good points above. I also wanted to point out that while anyone can strike and any employer can hire someone to replace the employee. It really boils down to who has more leverage. In the car industry there is a lot of un sold inventory so the company can go a lot longer than the employees can without a pay check. If the inventory was lower the union would have more leverage. Last time the writers striked we ended up with reality TV. I really hope that we don't end up with only AI written material.

This is a very good point. Leverage is an important factor to consider here. I'm not in the auto industry anymore so I don't all of the issues at stake but inventory will be play a big part in how this goes down. If I were to go on strike, management would be freaking out as then the students would complain to parents who would complain to the University, so it's in their best interest to do everything possible to avoid a teacher strike. Add to that some other big name strikes that have happened recently coupled with high support for unions amongst Americans as a whole (2/3 according to the last poll I saw) and I think companies are going to do whatever they can to shorten or avoid a strike. But like I stated, every industry is different. UAW is different than the cops who are different than the teachers who are different than UPS (Teamsters, I believe).

Plus just because a strike looks imminent, don't assume that it will happen. Union negotiations happen 24/7. During one of my last contract negotiations, I was on the bargaining team and we were in a meeting until 23:30 when we finally settled on a deal. The Broadway workers were about to strike last month but they reached a deal at the last possible minute.

 

[kdonnel]

what happens if those employees cross the picket line and try to come back to work?

My brother in law is a pilot.

Back when he worked for Comair and would jump seat to get to work on other airlines he ran into many times where the pilot pulled out a list of pilots who had crossed various picket lines.

If your name was on that list he did not allow you to jump seat on his plane.

I would imagine that something similar happens if a large number of people cross any picket line. People who did not cross keep a list and use that list whenever they can to deny whatever they can from those that crossed the picket line.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

My brother in law is a pilot.

Back when he worked for Comair and would jump seat to get to work on other airlines he ran into many times where the pilot pulled out a list of pilots who had crossed various picket lines.

If your name was on that list he did not allow you to jump seat on his plane.

I would imagine that something similar happens if a large number of people cross any picket line. People who did not cross keep a list and use that list whenever they can to deny whatever they can from those that crossed the picket line.

Yea, I hated guys like that…..

There was a second book,
Your brother in law was in the second book,
I probably refused him once or twice two….

Back then guys didn’t cross picket lines to get ahead, they did it to put food on the table ….

 

[kdonnel]

Yea, I hated guys like that…..

There was a second book,
Your brother in law was in the second book,
I probably refused him once or twice two….

Back then guys didn’t cross picket lines to get ahead, they did it to put food on the table ….

Who is in the second book?

Edited to add:
My brother in law now works for one of the fractional jet companies, I never remember which. They pay for him to fly commercial to get to wherever the plane is located.

He has had several instances over the years where passengers get pissed he is getting on a plane they did not make on standby or they feel he is in a seat they should be in. He used to explain he was on a paid ticket and flying in uniform as is company policy but now he just ignores them.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Who is in the second book?

All the ball busting captains that stopped guys and girls from going to work!

 

[kdonnel]

All the ball busting captains that stopped guys and girls from going to work!

He is not in that book. He was the one trying to get to work and was having to wait while the captain checked his book.