Union busting

Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or weaken the power of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace. Some employers use the euphemismsunion avoidance and preventative labor relations to refer to union busting.

Union busting tactics can include both legal and illegal activities, and can range anywhere from subtle to violent. Labor laws differ greatly from country to country in respect to their protection of unions and their organizing activities. These laws can affect topics such as posting notices, organizing on or off employer property, solicitations, card signing, union dues, picketing, work stoppages, striking and strikebreaking, lockouts, termination of employment, permanent replacements, automatic recognition, derecognition, ballot elections, and employer-controlled trade unions.

Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has a right to form or join a trade union. The provision is, however, not legally binding and has, in most jurisdictions, no horizontal effect in the legal relation between employer and employees or unions.

The union avoidance industry consists of consultancies who help employers discourage union efforts. Internationally, compliance with labor laws within developed countries can be vastly different from emerging countries.