Lockouts

Recently, some unions have been forcing companies to "lock out" workers instead of calling a strike.

Why? The advantage for the union is that lockouts create negative publicity for the company rather than for the union.

Also, in some states, locked-out workers can get unemployment payments while striking workers cannot.

And, employers can bring in "permanent replacements" for strikers, but not for workers who are locked out.

How do unions force companies to lock out their workers?

The union holds a "strike authorization" vote of the members. If the members authorize the union to call a strike, the union tells the company they may call a strike at any moment. The union repeats this threat over several weeks or months.

After awhile, it gets hard for a company to operate with the threat of a strike hanging constantly over its head. For example, the company's customers may look for another supplier who isn't likely to have a strike. To end the threat, the company locks out the workers.

The union tells the workers to do a "slow-down" at work so productivity drops. In effect, workers are "striking while working."

The union tells members to commit acts of sabotage to disrupt company operations.

The union "drags their feet" during contract bargaining by skipping meetings, ignoring deadlines, refusing to take management's offers back to members for a vote, or refusing to respond to management's offers.

Unfortunately, this strategy is being used more often: the New York Times reported that lockouts "have grown to represent a record percentage of the nation's work stoppages."

Union members have no say concerning lockouts.

Union officials decide if and when they want to force a company to lock workers out.

Of course, when workers are locked out -

union officials still get their full salaries and benefits.

Here are examples of recent lockouts:

When the United Steelworkers refused to bring management's offer to the members for a vote, Allegheny Technologies had to lock out more than 2,000 union workers at 12 plants in 6 states.

The Utility Workers Union held a strike vote and then notified Entergy that they could strike at any time. But the union refused to let the members vote on the proposed contract. Eventually, management told the union they had no choice but to lockout the workers.

When the United Steelworkers rejected every offer Sherwin Alumina made, the company was forced to lock out several hundred workers.

Know Unions

Lockouts

The union holds a "strike authorization" vote of the members. If the members authorize the union to call a strike, the union tells the company they may call a strike at any moment. The union repeats this threat over several weeks or months.

​After awhile, it gets hard for a company to operate with the threat of a strike hanging constantly over its head. For example, the company's customers may look for another supplier who isn't likely to have a strike. To end the threat, the company locks out the workers. ​

The union tells the workers to do a "slow-down" at work so productivity drops. In effect, workers are "striking while working."

Unfortunately, this strategy is being used more often: the New York Times reported that lockouts "have grown to represent a record percentage of the nation's work stoppages."

When the United Steelworkers refused to bring management's offer to the members for a vote, Allegheny Technologies had to lock out more than 2,000 union workers at 12 plants in 6 states.

The Utility Workers Union held a strike vote and then notified Entergy that they could strike at any time. But the union refused to let the members vote on the proposed contract. Eventually, management told the union they had no choice but to lockout the workers.

When the United Steelworkers rejected every offer Sherwin Alumina made, the company was forced to lock out several hundred workers.

After awhile, it gets hard for a company to operate with the threat of a strike hanging constantly over its head. For example, the company's customers may look for another supplier who isn't likely to have a strike. To end the threat, the company locks out the workers.