In today’s episode, Mike talks with Dan Gilmore, an experienced labor and employment attorney. Dan helps his clients understand the changing legal landscape around unions and organizing.

He’s the founder of Squire Strategies, where he advises employers on staying union-free through better communication and engagement with employees. Dan shares insights from his 30+ year career representing management.

After serving as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps, I joined the Tennessee-based firm of Miller & Martin and began a decades-long career in employment law. With Miller & Martin, I spent ten years in Southern California serving as “captive counsel” for the firm’s largest client. While in that capacity, I was directly involved in the client’s employment law matters in 14 states.

Throughout my career, I have represented clients in all phases of proceedings in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. I have experience in contested equal employment opportunity matters, employee and management training, alternative dispute resolution, and traditional labor law — including representation elections, contract administration, arbitrations, and negotiations.

I work regularly in partnership with human resources representatives and all levels of management to creatively and proactively identify and resolve issues impacting the workplace. I have advised and represented clients in matters including, but not limited to, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, National Labor Relations Act, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, as well as their state and local counterparts. For the past ten years, I have served as an adjunct professor in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

• Union membership in the US is at an all-time low of 10.1%, which is about 1/3 of what it was in the 1980s.
  
• However, union organizing activity has been on the rise recently, especially in industries like hospitality and retail. Starbucks, Chipotle, and Amazon are some examples.
  
• Younger generations seem more interested in unionizing, likely because they see the power in collective action.
  
• Changes at the National Labor Relations Board under the Biden administration have made it easier for employees to organize and engage in “concerted activity.”
  
• Employers need to be proactive about listening to employees and being accessible, rather than dismissive, to prevent unionization attempts.
  
• Social media has made it much easier for union organizers to connect with employees. Employers have to be careful in reacting to negative social media posts.
  

• https://www.squirestrategies.com/
  
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbgilmore/