The 'SALT Act,' a bill to expose union 'salting,' has been introduced in Congress
Like employers and consultants, the SALT Act would require unions and union "salts" to file with the Department of Labor's Office of Labor Management Standards
Summary: On Thursday, a bill to expose so-called union “salts” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed and signed into law, it would require unions and union “salts” to report their activities under 1959’s Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
GOP Congressman Burgess Owens, from Utah, introduced the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act legislation on Thursday, which is “aimed at exposing ‘salting,’ a common union organizing tactic where individuals are paid by labor unions to infiltrate companies with the aim of organizing a union,” according to the Congressman’s website.
“Dating back at least 100 years, ‘salting’ refers to the practice of union organizers or trained members applying for a job with a non-union employer for the specific purpose of unionizing the employer’s workforce, as opposed to having a legitimate interest in the job for which they apply,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce explained is announcing its strong support of the bill. “In many instances, employers are unaware that they have become the target of salting.”
A 2023 analysis of the use of union salts at Starbucks revealed that SEIU-afilliate Workers United paid nearly $2.5 million to organizers, "salts" and activists at Starbucks.
“The SALT Act would require unions to fully disclose their organizers’ identities and activities, either official or undercover, in the same manner that federal law requires transparency from employers– creating an equal playing field in union organizing efforts where workers stand to benefit the most,” stated the Institute for the American Worker on its website.
“Unions should make the case for representation in plain sight and let the workers decide,” said President of Institute for the American Worker F. Vincent Vernuccio. “Instead, unions are deceiving employers and the very employees they want to represent. The SALT Act would correct this loophole in federal labor law which does a disservice to workers who deserve to have all the facts before making an informed decision about union representation.”
View the full text of the bill here.