by DAVE JAMIESON
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The Labor Relations Institute links employers up with the “persuaders” who thwart union organizing campaigns.
The nexus of the “union avoidance” consulting industry sits in a row of strip malls in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow, between a dog-grooming service and a smoky bar. The blue sign above the door says “LRI,” short for the Labor Relations Institute, a lofty moniker that suggests an organization abuzz with researchers. But LRI is not an institute so much as a profitable business built on subcontracting.
LRI acts as a clearinghouse that links up employers with the “persuaders” who help thwart union organizing campaigns ? work that labor groups call “union busting.” It is the firm that some of America’s most recognizable companies have turned to when their workers are considering forming a union. Its clients have included the food-service conglomerates Aramark and Sysco; candy company Hershey; pharma giant Pfizer; poultry processor Mountaire Farms; ink producer Sun Chemical; and retailers like Dollar General, Lowe’s and Williams-Sonoma, according to federal disclosure filings.
Employers often pay $400 per hour or more to have a single labor consultant countering a union campaign. The real work is done inside the workplace, but making money doesn’t necessarily require going out in the field and speaking to workers ? the assignments can be subcontracted to other consultants who are registered as LLCs. Such is the business model of LRI.
LRI is run by Phillip Wilson, a University of Michigan Law School graduate who sometimes appears at human-resources conferences or gets quoted in the news speaking on labor issues.
Over the years, Wilson’s menu of services has ranged from à la carte videos and opposition research to a “guaranteed option” that requires a minimum $50,000 deposit and assures the union will fail.
It is not clear how many employees Wilson has at LRI. He has referred to himself as the “president, general counsel and occasional barista” for the firm. He did not respond to repeated interview requests for this story, or a detailed list of questions sent before publication.
Persuaders who have gotten jobs through Wilson describe him as a nice guy who brings in a lot of work for his subcontractors. Bob Funk, a former union employee who now runs a nonprofit watchdog called LaborLab, called Wilson a “figurehead” for the industry who makes a controversial line of work seem more palatable. Wilson’s polish gives no hint of how vicious anti-union campaigns can be, according to Funk.
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