Breaking Unions With the Language of Diversity and Social Justice

The Intercept (06/07/2022)

"The success or failure of a union election is almost always determined by knowledge of the workforce and an intimate understanding of the values and beliefs of each employee. The union suppression industry has made workforce intelligence gathering a key element of its trade.

In the 70s and 80s, industrial psychologist Charles Hughes trained over 27,000 managers and supervisors to 'make unions unnecessary.' One of his methods was to promote the use of surveys to collect information about workers. Employers signed up by the hundreds to attend Hughes's talks, including a seminar titled, 'Attitude Survey Techniques for Measuring Union Sentiments.' CUE — which hosted the conference — helped streamline the emerging industry of management consultants, industrial psychologists, and law firms that helped turn the tide against the labor movement, which has declined precipitously since the 70s.

'It's intimate to talk about race and identity,' said Duff. 'That creates a vulnerability, and to have consultants come in and say, Hey, look, I understand the discrimination you've gone through, you can open up to me,' that can get you a lot of valuable intelligence."