Labor Notes has put together a handy list of picket line “do’s and don’ts” after Verizon legally fired 40 union members in December for illegal picket-line activity. Apparently the Labor Notes editorial board thought it important that union members (and the zealots that “organize” them) needed the refresher. Labor Notes gives the following examples of actions NOT protected by the NLRA:
- Warning a line-crosser, “we know where you live and we’re coming to get you”
- Throwing rocks or bottles
- Banging on a scab’s car with a picket sign
- Spitting on scabs
- Placing nails on the road
And while it’s okay to verbally assault your co-worker whose family can’t survive on strike pay, Labor Notes reminds us that peppering your tirades with racial or sexual epithets is a job risking no-no. The leading “voice of labor movement” then adds this: “Make sure that strikers understand the problem with individually threatening a scab. While it feels good to yell, that’s not what wins the strike. Have plenty of chants ready for members to use, and remind them that picket lines are video recorded, so all actions are documented unless a wall of picket signs blocks the camera.” Labor Notes then goes on to encourage union officials to “most importantly” include a “no discipline for picket line misconduct” clause in any strike settlement. Then, if someone does goof up and toss a couple rocks or spit on someone, they can’t get fired when they come back in. Good to know!
