Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 65


     
     1             interested.  However, each person was only
     2             prepared to join the union 'as long as other
     3             people joined'.  They were not prepared to join
     4             on their own since they clearly felt
     5             vulnerable.  Obviously they felt some sort of
     6             security in numbers.  They generally expressed
     7             the desire to see a block join a union, rather
     8             than be pioneers themselves.  Furthermore, they
     9             also insisted that management were not to know
    10             that this had been done.
    11
    12             Most people who I approached thought that they
    13             may be sacked if they joined a union.  I made
    14             all my approaches in strict confidence because
    15             employees generally made it quite clear that
    16             they were not interested in approaching
    17             management and letting them know what was going
    18             on until they were properly organised.  They
    19             seemed to feel that they needed a strong power
    20             base before they could start negotiating.  I am
    21             quite convinced that if management had got wind
    22             of what was happening and I had not desisted
    23             from my activities I would have been sacked.
    24             They would not have used the union as a reason
    25             for sacking me.  They would have used some other
    26             bland and seemingly innocent reason, but they
    27             most certainly would have found some reason for
    28             doing it.  I personally believe very strongly
    29             that management are trained to sack union
    30             members in a way that makes it impossible for
    31             the employee to accuse them of doing it for
    32             union reasons.
    33
    34             Management are not stupid and they know the
    35             employment laws.  They know that they would be
    36             in serious trouble if they gave us a reason for
    37             sacking somebody the fact that that person
    38             belonged to a trade union.
    39
    40             It is impossible to pinpoint how management
    41             managed to give these impressions, but they most
    42             definitely engendered such perceptions.  It was
    43             partly a matter of rumour, but rumour of which
    44             management were fully aware and did nothing to
    45             dispel.  Other employees expressed exactly the
    46             same fears as I did when I suggested starting a
    47             union.  They all seemed to think that since
    48             there were no unions in McDonald's, McDonald's
    49             would be very hostile and that the reason why
    50             there were no unions in McDonald's was due to 
    51             the fact that McDonald's removed anybody who 
    52             belonged to a union. 
    53
    54             Despite the element of fear, I am very sure that
    55             if I had persevered with my attempts I would
    56             have succeeded in joining up the 30 or 40 people
    57             who had indicated their interest.  However, my
    58             efforts came to an abrupt end when management
    59             stepped in to halt matters.  I was away from
    60             work for a week and came in one Sunday night

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