While many businesses aren’t familiar with salting, employers would be wise to be aware of this potentially destructive tactic and understand what protections they may have.
Over the last year or so, a wave of union elections has made the news as employees of traditionally non-unionized employers have voted in favor of union representation. This phenomenon might appear to be an organic movement to the casual observer, but without question an age-old labor organizing technique may help explain the reason for this seemingly sudden boom: Salting.
Outside of the world of labor policy, the term “salting” is what you do to a flavorless entree, but employers would do well to understand its other meaning. Dating back at least 100 years, salting refers to the practice of union organizers or trained members applying for a job with a non-union employer for the specific purpose of unionizing the employer’s workforce.
Paid union salts are on the union payroll and remain so even if the target employer also hires them. Employers are not allowed to ask if a job candidate is affiliated with a union, but union salts may make their intentions known during the hiring process. If they do, simply not hiring them may seem like a reasonable option but following that path could place the employer in legal jeopardy by establishing an anti-union animus to be used against it later.
Letter to the NLRB Inspector General Regarding Allegations of Impropriety in Union Elections
As observers of labor...
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