Tony and the rest of the crew at the Rock-Tenn in Conway often received bonuses for their fast, quality work on the production line. They liked their work and they performed better than most of the other plants under in the company’s national umbrella. Unfortunately, their excellent reputation didn’t protect them from the sharp tongue of the managers, who yelled, swore and berated them daily.

Fed up with a work environment they found degrading and unfair, Tony and his coworkers began the long and difficult process of forming a union at the plant in 1998. They had serious concerns over health and safety issues – but more than anything, they desperately wanted some respect on the job. Growing up in a union family, Tony knew the only way to get that respect was through a union contract.

As expected, Rock-Tenn fought against the union effort tooth and nail. Management made it difficult for workers to talk to each other about the union. It also held mandatory meetings with workers, interrogating them individually about their union support. Tension over the union effort at the plant was at an all-time high when one of Tony’s coworkers – an outspoken union activist – was fired. The NLRB’s General Counsel initiated legal proceedings against the company, charging that his termination violated the National Labor Relations Act; the company eventually settled.

For a year, the union drive was forced underground while Tony and his co-workers mustered their resolve to try again.

In 1999, confident that they were ready, Tony started passing out union cards again. Management reacted strongly and swiftly. Again, they began their practice of holding individual meetings with every worker on every shift at the plant.

When they called Tony in, he admits that even though he was 100% behind the union, he was nervous about saying so to his boss. With a growing family to support at home, Tony couldn’t afford to get fired.

When the general manager called him in, he reminded Tony that his father was a union officer before asking him if he supported the union. "When you’re worried about your job, you’ll say anything," says Tony. "And I was very scared for my job. I had a family, and I was not ready to be unemployed. So, I said ‘We don’t need a union here.’"

Later, that same boss told all of Tony’s coworkers that not even a union officer’s son would support at union at Rock-Tenn. Tony was mortified, but he kept quiet.

By the time Tony and his coworkers were scheduled to vote in an NLRB election, which was held on the plant ’s premises, support for the union was through the roof. About ninety percent of the roughly 260-person workforce had signed union authorization cards.

Seeing that their strong-arm tactics weren’t working, the company tried a new direction. It made promises to fix up the plant, address safety concerns, and make sure people got treated right.

Caught between the company’s dizzying campaign of intimidation and harassment one day and promises of improvements and change the next, many of the workers became anxious and frustrated.

Despite having originally obtained nearly 90% authorization cards out of the 260 or so employees, the workers won the election by only a handful of votes.

The NLRB certified the election, and the company’s promises were ever realized.

Years ago, it was a struggle for the workers at Rock-Tenn to win their union. Today, it’s a struggle to keep it. In 2003, a decertification petition was filed, but eventually dismissed.

Just last month, the union was forced to file more charges – this time alleging that the company is interfering with the negotiation process by conducting private negotiations with individuals apart from the scheduled collective barga ining sessions.