{"id":4044,"date":"2023-12-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=4044"},"modified":"2023-12-28T17:05:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T17:05:52","slug":"union-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/union-corruption","title":{"rendered":"Dispelling Union Corruption Myths: How Unions Can Change the False Narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ken Green
CEO & Founder
UnionTrack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the words \u2018union\u2019 and \u2018corruption\u2019 often go hand-in-hand in people\u2019s minds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that labor has a sordid past. There have been some bad actors who used their position of influence to exert pressure on workers and make a profit off their fear. However, what a lot of people don\u2019t realize is that those bad seeds are the exception, not the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that the media and anti-labor corporations continue to perpetuate the myth that unions are corrupt organizations. They focus on sensationalizing stories of the few who have done wrong and completely ignore the stories about those doing good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And because unions have a more difficult time reaching people with their positive labor messages, those negative narratives tend to prevail. To overcome this reputational scar, unions must find a way to change that narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positive Union Messaging Gets Overshadowed by False Narratives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unions do a lot of good for their members, for their communities, and for workers across the country. Yet, most people don\u2019t know about those good deeds because the positive contributions unions make tend to be ignored or overshadowed by headline-making actions of a few. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corruption Makes Better Headlines<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Unions and the media have always had a contentious relationship that has impacted the way the media presents unions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A three-year study<\/a> published in 2013 by Dr. Frederico Subervi, co-editor-in-chief of \u201cThe Oxford Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Communication,\u201d shows not only the lack of stories about labor unions on the major networks but also how many of the stories that do get covered are framed by conflict for which workers and unions are faulted, not management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big reason for that is reporters covering labor issues lack experience in the complexities of labor-management relations, wrote journalist Ed Finn for The Independent<\/a> in 2018. \u201cLacking such insight, their reports invariably are confined to a \u2018winners\u2019 and \u2018losers\u2019 approach, sometimes even to a \u2018hero\u2019 and \u2018villain\u2019 perspective. If the strike is settled peacefully, the employer is praised; if the strike occurs, the union is blamed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In covering labor news this way, the media is doing a disservice to unions and workers. Because people, in general, accept the media\u2019s presentation of news as reality, they accept the corrupt characterization painted in the news and learn not to trust \u2014 and therefore decline to join \u2014 unions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the reality is that the majority of unions are led by good people who do good work. \u201cFor every high-profile story that is in the media about a corrupt union leader, there are thousands of regular, honest leaders who are never profiled,\u201d notes the International Union of Operating Engineers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corruption Narrative Helps Management Break Workers\u2019 Trust in Unions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Anti-union companies that fight workers\u2019 unionization efforts have latched on to the false corruption narrative, using it as a key message in their union-busting campaigns. Managers play to workers\u2019 fears of union corruption to plant seeds of doubt and create distrust between workers and the union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReal-life examples of corrupt union leaders living high on the hog off members\u2019 dues are very rare,\u201d writes the Socialist Alternative<\/a> team. \u201cIt is a scare tactic that management uses to stop our unions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s effective because the company has access to its workers that unions do not. They can post these messages in break rooms, communicate them in captive audience meetings, and blast them in emails. Unions simply do not have the same level of access to workers to be able to refute corruption claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"New<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Unions Must Find a Way to Change the Corruption Narrative<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That said, it\u2019s up to labor leaders to find a way to change the narrative. They need to focus on educating workers and the public to build more positive relationships and increase memberships. Some ways to do that are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n