Employer ULP 4: Company Unionism

It shall be unlawful for an employer to initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization, including the giving of financial or other support to it or its organizers or supporters. (Art. 248, Labor Code)

● A labor union is company-dominated union where it appears that:

- the key officials of the company have been forcing employees belonging to a rival labor union to join the former under pain of dismissal should they refuse to do so;

- the key officials of the company, as well as its legal counsel, have attended the election of officers of the former union;

- no member of the former labor union had been dismissed by the company despite its alleged retrenchment policy;

- the officers and members of the rival union were dismissed after they had presented demands for improvement of the working conditions, and after such dismissal, the company engaged the services of new laborers (Oceanic Air Products vs. CIR, G.R. No. L-18704, January 31, 1963)

● xxx if these managerial employees would belong to or be affiliated with a Union, the latter might not be assured of their loyalty to the Union in view of evident conflict of interests. The Union can also become company-dominated with the presence of managerial employees in Union membership. Stated differently, in the collective bargaining process, managerial employees are supposed to be on the side of the employer, to act as its representatives, and to see to it that its interest are well protected. The employer is not assured of such protection if these employees themselves are union members. Collective bargaining in such a situation can become one-sided. (Pepsi Cola vs. Sec. of Labor, G.R. No. 96663. August 10, 1999)