Forewarned Is Forearmed: The Importance of Understanding Labor Issues in Making the Location Decision

Mike Ball and Mike Griffaton, attorneys in the Vorys labor and employment group, co-authored an article for Area Development magazine titled “Forewarned Is Forearmed: The Importance of Understanding Labor Issues in Making the Location Decision.”  The article highlighted why site selectors should assess a potential location’s workforce with an eye to identifying areas of concern that might make it open to unionization efforts.

The article states:

“Building new and expanding existing facilities are complex undertakings. Companies face myriad decisions in first selecting a site and then in the long-term challenges of managing ongoing operations. A labor market analysis is a critical step in the site selection process, as the company needs to understand the local demographics for current and future workforce availability. Part of that analysis should involve assessing the actual “labor” laboring in the area — Are they unionized, union-free, or unionizing? The answer holds important information about the company’s future workforce because it illuminates both actual payroll costs and the costs organized labor exacts on employers.”

To read the entire article on the Area Development website, click here.