ARLINGTON, Va. - On June 21, Ray Isaac, president of Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning in Rochester, N.Y., and secretary of the board of directors for the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), presented testimony before the House Small Business Committee's Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment, and Government Programs.

The subject of the hearing was union "salting" practices. Salting is when a union member seeks to obtain employment from a nonunion contractor for the sole purpose of organizing the other employees.

"While I have felt that union salting was not a very honest way for a union to infiltrate an unsuspecting business," Isaac told the committee, "I could see how salting could be viewed as a legitimate organizing tool.

"Recently, however, instead of educating nonunion employees on their rights, union salting has become nothing more than an overt and glorified tool of harassment and intimidation designed to antagonize the nonunion business."

The salt takes a job in order to make allegations of unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act, Isaac explained. He said in many cases these allegations are proven false, but contractors must spend money and time defending themselves.

"By helping to address these issues," he concluded, "Congress can go a long way in assisting job growth while also providing a real benefit to American consumers."

To read Isaac's complete written testimony, visit www.acca.org/govt/.

Publication date: 07/18/2005