Step 2: Research and Gather Information

Step 2 both lays the groundwork for the campaign and helps evaluate your target as described in Step 1.  It’s also an essential step for developing a Campaign Plan (Step 4) to give workers the confidence needed to win.  Organizing Committee Members (Step 3) most often are the best resources to gather information. Remember in Step 2 the goal is to keep any campaign talk quiet.  Alerting the employer at such an early stage can doom the campaign before it gets off the ground.   

 
Checklist of Information to Gather

1. Names, addresses, home/cell numbers, emails of targeted workers
2. Departments and/or work groups/job titles/shift
3. Locations of all work units and company sites
4. Size of unit
5. Policy manual and/or employee handbook/job descriptions/benefits info
6. Breakdown of full-time, part-time, on-call or temporary employees
7. Languages spoken
8. Organizational chart of management staff and governing body
9. List of all classifications at the workplace and salary/wage schedules
10. Funding sources/annual reports
11. Private, public or other designation 
12. Names of any attorneys or consulting firms used by the employer
13. Client/customer base
14. Previous labor relations
15. Pressure points, suppliers
16. Worker attitudes towards union
17. Applicable labor laws i.e. NLRB, PERC
18. Information about other unionized workers in this industry and/or company
19. Applicable regulatory/legislative guidelines/mandates