Fighting Union Busters in a Carolina Carpet Mill

Phil Cohen emerged from a tough working class background to become one of the labor movement's most celebrated field agents responsible for landmark decisions by the National Labor Relations Board and OSHA.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsAuthor’s NoteProloguePart One. The Campaign1. The Committee2. Meeting with Witnesses3. Plant Tour4. Labor Board Investigation5. The Three Girls6. The Union Busting Lawyer7. Federal Agent’s Grim ForecastPart Two. The Case Unfolds8. National Right to Work Attorneys9. Illegal Discharge10. Cartoons11. Labor Board Decision12. Becoming a Test Case13. Union Lawyers14. Preparing for Trial15. Injured WorkersPart Three. Aftermath16. Compliance Period17. The Tornado18. House Calls19. Shop Floor Confrontation20. A Barrage of New IssuesIndex

“Southern organizing and the role of anti-union consultants in thwarting it was back in the news this year when Amazon workers lost a union representation vote in Bessemer, Alabama. Union members and staff hoping to avoid such setbacks in the future should consult a new book by Phil Cohen, a longtime labor activist in the South. Cohen’s Fighting Union Busters in a Carolina Carpet Mill: An Organizer’s Memoir describes how a group of North Carolina factory workers survived a union-busting campaign, which employed many of the same tactics, legal and illegal, used by Amazon. For organizers countering similar threats to existing bargaining units or those trying to create new ones without the benefit of employer neutrality and card check recognition, Cohen provides a useful prep course on what to expect in any contested National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election proceeding…. a detailed account of the successful union detective work involved…Cohen drew on decades of experience handling NLRB case and utilized the workplace relationships and networks of Local 294-T members…Cohen’s book contains lots of good practical advice, for union officers and staff, about dealing with union and management lawyers, Labor Board agents, and Regional Directors.”—New York Labor History Association