Sometimes it takes an outsider to put matters in perspective. It was this outsider's point of view that enabled Alexis de Tocqueville to write one of the still-great political sociological critiques of the United States, Democracy in America. Employers receive legal protection for extensive interference in the decision of workers as to whether or not they wish to have union representation. This includes active campaigning by employers among employees against union representation as well as participating in campaigns to eliminate union representation. At least one in 10 union supporters campaigning to form a union is illegally fired.
Employers engage in widespread harassment and intimidation against union supporters.
In some cases, court, medical and credit records of union activists are obtained and the family lives of activists are studied for possible weaknesses. Nearly half of public workers suffer from full or partial denial of collective bargaining rights. Union supporters who suffer from illegal firings, harassment, surveillance or improper employer electioneering do not have adequate remedies at the National Labor Relations Board. If employers cannot get what they want through collective bargaining, they can unilaterally impose their terms, lock out their employees, and transfer work to another location, or even to another legal entity. Unacceptable demands are made of workers and are often accompanied by arrangements for the recruiting and training of strike-breakers.