Status

“Salting” abuse is the intentional placement of trained union professional organizers and agents in a merit shop facility to harass and/or disrupt company operations, apply economic pressure, increase operating and legal costs and ultimately put the company out of business.

Salting is not merely an organizing tool—it has become an instrument of economic destruction aimed at nonunion companies. As part of this strategy, unions send their agents into merit shop workplaces under the guise of seeking employment. Once hired, these salts often try to create a toxic work environment, by misleading coworkers and deliberately increasing costs through various actions, including workplace sabotage and frivolous discrimination complaints with various agencies.

Frivolous salting costs companies significant time, money and resources, and prevent them from hiring more employees, investing in equipment and securing more work to grow the company and provide additional jobs in the community.

On March 25, ABC wrote a letter in support of H.R. 7784, the Start Applying Labor Transparency Act or SALT Act (introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah), which would amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. Its purpose is to clarify that labor organizations and their consultants must report when they engage in salting. This change would ensure workers have the transparency they deserve and a fair environment to determine what is best for their workplace.

ABC wrote, “The SALT Act provides workers with transparency and, at the same time, protects small businesses from the toxic work environment salts often seek to create.”

The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace also sent a letter in support of the SALT Act to members of the U.S. House of Representatives on April 10, 2024.

Desired Outcome

ABC will continue to work with the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to advance legislation that promotes workplace transparency and counters the detrimental impacts of union salting.