B & G Security Consultants Inc |
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"Pride in Professionalism" |
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B & G Security |
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Mission Statement |
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Corporate Investigations |
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Insurance Investigations |
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Surveillance Services |
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Labor Management Services |
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Protective Services |
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Computer Forensics |
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Cybercrime Investigations |
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Domestic Investigations |
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Missing Person/Locates |
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Collision Reconstruction |
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Training Services |
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Confidentiality Policy |
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Client Testimonials |
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Memorial for Lisa Ann Grevers |
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Memorial for Lisa Ann Grevers Page 2 |
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News Updates |
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Organization |
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B & G Security Consultants Inc
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Labour Dispute Management Services
This year hundreds of Canadian businesses will experience some form of organized labor disruption. Work stoppages and the resulting workdays lost due to labor disputes fluctuated wildly between 1980 and 2000, ranging from just 377 to as many as 1,028 strikes and lockouts in just one year. During that period the number of workdays lost per 1,000 employees (the time-loss ratio) ranged from 133 to as many as 953.
A small fraction of these labor disputes were short term wildcat walkouts, but the trend has turned toward full blown sieges that are planned and executed by well funded and experienced union bosses. These professional strike organizers train workers to create an impenetrable picket line, which they use to block all traffic into and out of the business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In some cases helicopters were required to ferry in and out of the facility essential supplies and personnel after relations between the company and the striking employees eroded to such a point that a trench warfare mentality developed. Not only did these self-contained conflicts cost the companies millions of dollars in lost business, they also created a workplace atmosphere of mistrust and dissent that continued long after the strike finally ended, and the employees were once again permitted onto the property. These festering war wounds inevitably lead to increased abuse of company property, workplace theft, vandalism, industrial espionage, aggressiveness, and other acts of rebellion.
For the most part, these conflicts were avoidable. The natural tension that occurs on the picket line was exasperated rather than reduced by the storm trooper mentality that seems to permeate throughout the security industry whenever labor disputes are involved. The employees are not the enemy of the company, and they cannot become so because eventually the strike will end and those same employees will have to return to work, standing alongside management and other non-unionized employees. The strike must be managed and controlled, and business must continue as much as is possible during the disruption, but the striking employees must feel that they have a voice and that their efforts are not being ignored. This reduces the risk of alienation that will inevitably lead to an escalation of violence, the destruction of company property, and risks of harm to management and their families.
DIFFUSING THE CONFLICT
Labor Disputes do not have to be battlefields and the security team that administers the supervision of the facility during the dispute does not have to land on the property like an invading army. Black combat style uniforms, body armor, and heavy muscle on the picket line do nothing but aggravate the employees and union representatives. This leads to more support from other unions. Conflicts follow, resulting in a total breakdown of communications and the complete decimation of any kind of negotiated access protocol. This breakdown of relations leads to court orders, police intervention, arrests, damage to company property, and a need for personal protection for members of management and their families. By implementing this kind of strike management the military style security company creates the need for more security personnel, which increases its own profits exponentially.
At B&G Security Consultants we do not manufacture conflict with striking employees or their unions. It is our goal to limit the size of the picket line by reducing the need for it to be there. Through firm but fair negotiations with picket captains, our highly experienced team leaders will communicate the needs of the company, and they will listen to the concerns of the picketing employees. By maintaining the lines of communication, we will successfully negotiate an agreement that will enable essential business vehicles to enter and exit the facility. This will ensure minimal losses to the company and will also help to ensure that the employees will eventually be able to return to their employment with the company. This non-combatant atmosphere also helps to reduce post strike tension for both management and employees, which inevitably results in a reduction in acts of rebellion by returning workers.
INTELLIGENCE GATHERING
Before our team arrives to administer a labor dispute, we ascertain from the company’s management which employees are the most likely to act as picket captains, and also which employees are likely to be the greatest sources of disruption. We then conduct extensive research on those individuals. Through the use of sporadic or on-going covert surveillance, our team of investigators can monitor and record the activities of key union personnel during the weeks before a pending labor dispute. This enables our team to establish locations of covert union meetings, possible unknown points of access to the facility, possible logistics concerns, surveillance locations, and other tactical and logistical considerations. We also utilize highly sophisticated on-line research utilities to sift through the millions of websites and internet message boards that could contain information about the pending action, or key union representatives. This information enables us to negotiate from a position of strength.
In addition to the team of investigators on the work site, we also dispatch individuals or teams to work outside the strike zone, conducting surveillance on selected employees to ensure that they are not engaged in collecting dangerous items for the picket line, to ensure that they are not threatening or disturbing members of management or their families, and to learn of any outside agitators or media that might become involved in the labor dispute. Through the use of both covert and visible handheld and remote controlled cameras, our investigators collect the evidence necessary to obtain whatever injunctions might become necessary should negotiations break down.
MEDIA RELATIONS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
A labor dispute can seriously damage the image and reputation of a company. Sensationalist media are drawn to picket lines like moths to a flame, and their presence often results in increased violence and disruption as picketers perform for their families on the 6 o’clock news.
B&G Security Consultants in addition to having more than thirty-five years of experience working in the military, security, and investigations, has our professional staff who enables B&G Security Consultants to maintain both the company’s property and their image throughout the dispute.
As part of our planning process we will work with our client to help them develop an effective media relations strategy. We also have the expertise in place to be able to assist our clients in maintaining and updating their website as is required. |
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Phone: 519-868-9088 E-mail:admin@bgsc.ca |