Report Finds Maine Health Spent Nearly $1 Million on Union Busting Consultants in 2021

A new study by the Economic Policy Institute finds that Maine Health spent $958,000 on anti-union consultants in 2021, putting it among the nation’s most notorious union busting corporations like Amazon and Hello Fresh.  The report finds that as workers have been exercising their right to demand better pay and working conditions, corporations are spending roughly $433 million a year to prevent employees from having a collective voice in the workplace.

The analysis is based on LM-10 forms filed by consultants with the the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS).

As we’ve seen at Maine Medical Center, Shalom House, Bates College and elsewhere, the vast majority of employers hire what are known as “union-avoidance” consultants when their employees decide to organize. These consultants deploy a range of tactics to mislead, coerce, cajole and spread fear among workers to dissuade them from forming unions. According to the EPI report, consultants report being paid $350-plus hourly rates or $2,500-plus daily rates for their work to defeat union organizing efforts. According to one finance report, Bates paid union buster Katie Lev $425 per hour for her services.

However, we still don't know the extent of the resources spent on that campaign because  while employers are required to report certain union avoidance spending, disclosure requirements and enforcement is so weak that relatively little data is available. There is also a loophole in the law that allows employers to avoid reporting spending on “advice” from union avoidance professionals. While the Obama administration attempted to close that loophole, corporate groups sued to stop it and the Trump administration rescinded the disclosure rule.

If this information was available, workers could more effectively counter employers’ claims that they can’t afford to increase pay and benefits at the bargaining table. In order to fix the problem, EPI recommends passing a number labor reforms that would add stronger reporting requirements including the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act and other changes that can be done at the federal level.