Community relations won’t stop a labor union

We have a strong community relations program that prefers hiring workers within the vicinity of our factory.

- REY ELBO

Our human resources (HR) manager says it's a strategy to prevent people from organizing a labor union. Is that correct? - Arctic Owl.Contrary to the belief of your HR manager, there's no assurance that having a "strong" community relations could prevent workers from organizing a union. Besides, that statement coming from an HR manager crosses into union avoidance and therefore, an illegal strategy.

But then, how strong is "strong," exactly? Do you have an attractive scholarship for deserving college students? Do you have a medical mission for the residents or a feeding program for its malnourished children?

How about funding a self-managed cooperative to augment the income of the workers' families? Does the program include the construction of a basketball court or the repainting of the barangay hall? The list is endless.

On paper, those interventions could help organizations be endeared to the residents but not enough to prevent unions from coming in. At its best, your program could only merit regular standing ovation from barangay officials, the parish priest, and grateful residents, but not to labor officials.

The hard truth is that those "strong" interventions may not be enough. They can't be used to solve the issues of an unhappy workforce that may even think that hiring locals is best suited to solve their commuting woes and ensure the success of the perfect attendance award.