Since 1992, MADI specialized in consulting with American businesses on strike contingency planning and deploying strike replacement workforces and Strike Security teams to keep businesses operational and protected during labor disputes.
As of January 2023, MADI has paused all of its strike-related services - strike contingency planning, strike staffing and strike security. Leveraging its 30 years of deploying workforces under high-pressure situations, MADI is now focused on providing traveling production, skilled trades, and warehouse workforces to American businesses that are struggling to staff their manufacturing plants and distribution centers with local talent in a tight labor market.
Strike contingency planning is the process of developing an operational strategy and comprehensive business continuity plan to continue operations in the event of a labor dispute. The need for strike contingency planning traditionally comes in to play when a unionized company's collective bargaining comes up for renewal or after it has recently become unionized.
In addition to an operational strategy, strike contingency plans often include a specialized labor dispute security plan as well. While many companies have contract security in place for normal day-to-day operations, for protection during a labor dispute many bring in Security Officers that are specifically trained in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and evidence documentation in order to avoid any Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) that could be caused by inexperienced security personnel on the picket line.
A systematic approach should include proactively identifying all operational and security vulnerabilities and threats that can pose risks during a labor dispute.
While each industry has its own set of requirements, there are many commonalities and best practices across industries and facilities from a physical risk management perspective. An on-site needs analysis and development of a strike contingency plan should address areas such as:
Strike contingency planning and strike readiness have drastically changed over the past few years due to the pandemic, the corresponding shift in the labor market, and the increased demand for traveling production, skilled trades, and warehouse workforces.
The need for a proactive recruiting and readiness preparation process is now critical for companies that need to continue operations on day one of a labor dispute. Conversations with strike agencies should begin well before the union contract expires and a labor dispute is imminent.
Depending upon your tolerance of risk and the timing of your labor dispute, companies typically offer various levels of support to match your needs.
Basic strike staffing needs are assessed remotely. This may be a good option if a strike is unlikely, a small workforce is needed, and the personnel are unskilled.
The standard process for strike contingency planning includes an on-site needs analysis to have operations and security experts visit your facilities to physically assess your operations, staffing, and/or security needs and develop a comprehensive strike contingency plan.
This is an appropriate option if a labor dispute is a possibility, your operations are complex, multiple facilities are involved, or the number of strike replacement workers needed is large or highly technical.
Once your staffing requirements are determined, the agency must assemble and maintain, on a position-by-position basis, a standby team of fully-vetted personnel for your specific project. This enables them to deploy teams rapidly and efficiently, and it minimizes the deployment timeline.
This is a necessary step when a strike is likely, a large number of strike replacement workers are needed, or the personnel needed are highly technical or in high-demand.
Operations and/or Security Teams can be deployed prior to a labor dispute. Deployed personnel can be positioned visibly at the facility or can be stationed off-site providing an invisible, instant response capability.
This option may be necessary if extensive on-site training is required, an immediate response is required on day one of the strike, or simply to convey a high level of preparedness to the union. It's recommended to consult a labor attorney about positioning a strike team on-site at your facilities.
Experienced Strike Security and Replacement Worker Teams can be deployed across the United States to provide critical protection to your business.
Call us at (800) 780-0500 or schedule a call to discuss your needs and we'll provide you with agency recommendations based on your needs and our 30 years of industry expertise.