Wilma Liebman has seen it all in her 14 years serving on the National Labor Relations Board.
The tactics deployed by the larger companies to counter union campaigns have largely been developed by consultants who Liebman said have gotten good at pushing the limits of the laws.
“These consultants are experts on the nuts and bolts of the NLRB,” Liebman said. “They have studied cases and decisions to learn what campaign conduct can still push the limits while being lawful. And they’re always kind of right on that edge, maybe a little over edge, trying to push the law.”
In an exclusive interview with News 4 Investigates, Liebman, who served on the National Labor Relations Board from 1997 to 2011, spoke about the unionizing efforts of Starbucks workers in the Buffalo area and why some companies feel emboldened to push back on unions.
Liebman has watched from the sidelines this year as Amazon successfully pushed back a union campaign in Bessemer, Alabama. Pro-union workers and Amazon officials are set to face-off again after the NLRB signaled it would seek a revote.
And she has watched closely the efforts of workers to unionize at three Starbucks stores in the Buffalo area.
Starbucks has hired Littler Mendelson, a labor law firm that consults with companies on ways to counter union campaigns. Such a practice has become common, Liebman said. Indeed, a 2019 report by Economic Policy Institute found that companies spend some $340 million annually on “union avoidance” consultants.
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