Hello to our colleagues at Bert Nash, the clients who we look forward to working with every day, and the community which we serve.

On May 22nd, we the workers at Bert Nash filed for a union election so that we could bargain for improvements in our wages, benefits, and working conditions. We did so with a strong majority of our colleagues here signed on union cards and prepared to vote yes.

Rather than accept our desire to be represented by Teamsters Local 696, and give us voluntary recognition Bert Nash's management chose to fight against the will of the people that work here and force us through a redundant election process.

In the two weeks since that election process began Bert Nash has retained the services of a union busting firm called The American Labor Group. The American Labor Group files forms called LM-20s which are mandatory disclosures with the Labor Department where groups such as themselves state why they were contracted by a company. In just the last few year we have found 4 of these forms that ALG has filed that state they were contracted by employers to "persuade workers" with regards to exercising their rights to unionize.

Please join us in calling on our CEO, Dr. Kirsten Watkins, to stop the union busting and to stop misrepresenting these contractors and the service they are being paid handsomely to provide.

Dear Dr. Watkins,

            We, the workers at Bert Nash, clients of Bert Nash, and community allies, call on you to stop using a union busting firm to influence workers in their legally protected right to decide who they want as their union representatives and we demand that the agency make a public declaration of their neutrality in the matter so that the staff of the agency can make their decision without undue influence.

            Bert Nash has contracted a union busting firm called The American Labor Relations Group (ALG) who have been hired by companies like American Craft Brewery, and Hershey Chocolate to persuade workers on how to and if they should exercise their legally protected right to form a union and vote yes in a union election.

            You have claimed that this organization is neutral and well vetted, but after brief research using publicly available information, we have found that ALG has filed multiple LM-20 forms which state their express purpose was to persuade workers about their union representation. Additionally in 2014, Jim Monica was found by the labor board to have violated the law by illegally interrogating a worker about their support and activities.

            Additionally, both in the public eye and at previous union negotiating sessions you have claimed that the organization has little money to spare to provide better wages and benefits for the workers at Bert Nash, but the daily rates for ALG range from $1800 to over $3000 per day. How has the organization found the funds to pay for this when they have not been able to raise the mileage reimbursement to the rate for the past 3 years?

            These union busters are not the neutral third party you portray them to be, and we demand that you stop your union busting so that the workers at Bert Nash can make their decision as to who represents them at the bargaining table free from harassment, intimidation, and undue influence.
            

Signed,

The Workers at Bert Nash

Clients of Services at Bert Nash

Community Supporters