A “Fact Finder 12” special report by Kansas station KWCH-TV revealed that a bannering campaign conducted by Carpenters Local 201 was nothing more than an intimidation tactic to protest against nonunion contractors. 

According to the Fact Finder 12 report, Local 201 has protested multiple work sites in Wichita with signs saying “Labor Dispute” and “Shame on” the company, such as the YMCA and a local church that hired a nonunion contractor, causing one drywall contractor to lose out on a job because the client was afraid the unions would picket. Despite claims that the contractor was paying substandard wages, the union could produce no data to support their claims.

The report also found another union, Local 1445, sent a letter to a contractor accusing them of paying substandard wages and giving the contractor seven days to send back a detailed form with specific information on employee compensation to disprove its claims. The letter threatened, “In the event you do not provide the requested information within that time, we will assume that our information is current and that you are, in fact, paying substandard wages and benefits.“

These tactics are not new, and in March 2012, the merit shop celebrated a victory when a federal court of appeals in Georgia upheld a verdict awarding a merit shop company $1.7 million. The jury found the “area standards” campaign conducted against the company was illegal. Campaign activities included bannering, picketing and handbilling.

ABC also offers tools and to help members combat bannering campaigns against themselves and their customers, including a website, www.shameonunionbanners.com, and a resources guide.