It is about time: two major U.S. companies have filed civil racketeering (RICO) suits against unions that have been trying to organize their workers.
Wackenhut filed a suit against the Service Employees International Union, accusing the union of using strong-arm tactics while attempting to get company security guards to join the SEIU.
The other suit was filed by Smithfield Foods against the United Food and Commercial Workers. Smithfield has claimed that the UFCW launched a campaign that was “designed to destroy Smithfield’s public image and inflict maximum economic damage,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
As expected the charges have been denied by the unions.
This puts the unions on the defensive and lets them know that tactics deleterious to a company’s welfare will no longer be tolerated as a standard aspect of union organizing efforts. Now it’s time for other companies to get on the RICO bandwagon and let unions know that the days of “anything goes” are over!
