US company's dirty tactics backfire - Australia

Ha! Here's one story with a happy ending for the workers involved. Only because they stuck together and were able to bargain strongly represented by the AMWU. Not a that unusual story in the world of union negotiated Enterprise Bargaining Agreements. I often remember my old work and battles with management trying to fuck us all over. One EBA they wanted to reduce the maximum redundancy from 48 weeks to just 16 weeks (as if.....) and then claimed they were bargaining in "good faith". We bought on a strike over that one too, it being avoided in the 11th hour when management finally caved. There was a lot of argy bargy, but things never reached the point of management assholeness as in this case.

They got their EBA in the end after being enraged at this US companies tactics to try and intimidate them. I've never heard anything like what this company did. Good on the workers for sticking it to the assholes in the office ;)

Workers at the Wetherill Park factory in Sydney make the refrigerated and heated display cabinets for food stores across Australia, their skill and productivity the reason that the new owners McAlpine Hussmann inherited a major long-term contract with Woolworths. 

But they threatened to pull the industrial plug on McAlpine Hussmann after it resorted to sending a series of intimidating letters to their homes with their personal pay details, trying to put extra pressure on their families to get them to accept an inferior workplace agreement. 

One letter detailed the unemployment rate of neighbouring suburbs. 

The letters backfired when insulted members voted overwhelmingly to authorise industrial action, which brought management to its senses in talks just hours before an initial eight-hour strike. 

The fitters, refrigeration mechanics and general workers have voted up a new three-year union agreement which delivers annual pay rises of 4, 4 and 3.8 per cent, plus securing all existing entitlements including a redundancy agreement with 60-week cap. 

“It’s above the cost of living and we’ve been told its one of the best agreements in Sydney, so the majority voted for it,” said AMWU delegate Scott Casitovski. 

“But now we know how the company want to play it, they sent propaganda to our homes trying to undermine our family relationships, targeting where you live is not acceptable.” more  

Is this how companies behave in the US then? Piss off, don't try it here. Just goes to show, workers have got no chance against immoral bosses like this under individual contracts. Note to all, join a union if you're not in one. I'd not trust this Abbott gov one iota.