Labor spying in the United States facts for kids
Labor spying in the United States means secretly watching workers or groups of workers (called unions). Companies sometimes did this to find out what workers were planning. Spying by companies on union activities has been against the law in the U.S. since the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. However, companies can still watch employees who are not part of a union while they are at work. About 80% of big U.S. companies watch their employees today.
Historically, worker groups called trade unions were often targets of labor spying. Companies or their agents usually used spying. This activity often helped with union busting, which means trying to stop unions from forming or getting stronger. In one case, an employer even hired spies to watch both striking workers and the workers he hired to replace them.
In 1921, writer Sidney Howard noted that labor spies worked in secret. He said they were "in a position of immense strength." No one could easily check if they were telling the truth. Because spies worked hidden among regular workers, everyone became suspicious. This caused a lot of anger towards employers.
A famous example of how labor spies worked came from Albert Balanow. He worked for detective agencies like Burns and Thiel. Balanow said that during the Red Scare, agencies would make up problems to get money from businesses. He said, "If there is no conspiracy, you've got to make a conspiracy in order to hold your job." When spies were found out, it sometimes led to anger and even violence among workers. One time, it even led to a "shooting war."
What is a Labor Spy?
Labor spies are people hired by corporations (large companies) or special agencies that help with union busting. Their goal is to watch, weaken, or even destroy labor unions. They also try to stop unions from taking action.
One description says a labor spy "enters the [workplace] specifically to identify the leaders of the Labor organization, to propagandize against them and blacklist them and to disrupt and corrupt their union. He is under cover, disguised as a worker, hired to betray the workers' cause."
Labor spies can be called many things. These include spies, agents, agents provocateurs (people who try to cause trouble), saboteurs, or informants. They might also be called "plants" or "spotters." Dr. Richard C. Cabot, a professor at Harvard, said labor spies were different from regular detectives. Detectives usually investigate people suspected of crimes. But labor spies watch people who are not suspected of any crime.
In the mid-to-late 1800s, detective agencies like Pinkerton and Thiel called their field agents "operatives" or "testers." The Pinkerton logo, which showed an eye, even inspired the saying "private eye."
People who work as labor spies can be professionals. They can also be regular people hired for a specific job, like stopping a strike. They might work directly for a company or report to the company through an agency.
Some agencies that provide spies also offer other services. These can include security guards, training, and even weapons. They might also gather information or find people to replace striking workers. Other agencies focus only on spying.
Both the spy agencies and the companies that hire them want to keep their activities secret. This is because companies want to avoid embarrassment and bad public relations. Spy agencies also worry about danger if their spies are discovered. If a spy is found out, they can no longer be useful to the agency. Because of this, real reports from labor spies are very rare.
Companies do not have to share information like government agencies do. So, company practices like spying are rarely seen by the public. However, some historical examples of labor spying have come to light. These examples give us a good idea of how it worked.
How Labor Spies Worked
Labor spies used many secret methods. They might watch people without them knowing. They could also try to convince workers to think a certain way. Sometimes, they would cause trouble or violence. They might even try to set people up or scare them. Spies could also try to get into important positions within a union. From there, they could change the union's goals.
For example, at the Underwood Elliot Fisher Company, undercover spies caused a lot of damage to a local union. The union's membership dropped from over 2,500 people to fewer than 75.
A Look Back in Time
As early as 1855, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency provided "spotters." These spotters were meant to find dishonest or lazy railroad workers. But this program failed in 1872. Papers found on a Pinkerton agent showed the agency was using dishonest methods.
In 1869, clothing workers formed a secret group called the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor. They did this because an employer was spying on them. The employer then used a blacklist (a list of people not to hire) to destroy their union.
In 1888, a group called the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers held a meeting. They created a special committee to find any hidden labor spies. They found a newspaper reporter and decided to hold their meetings in secret. No one was allowed to take notes. Their worries were correct, but their efforts failed. Two Pinkerton agents had secretly joined the meeting as delegates. They wrote detailed reports on everything that was discussed.
By the late 1800s, agencies that offered security and spy services were like private police forces. They only answered to the companies that hired them. These private police groups became less common as public police departments grew. But they were still used by mine owners in "frontier environments" well into the 1900s.
By the early 1900s, when journalists called "muckrakers" were exposing problems, employers used spy services even more.
By the 1930s, industrial spying was a common part of how companies dealt with workers. It was the most important way anti-union agencies helped companies control their workers. More than 200 agencies offered secret agents to their clients.
During the 1930s, many companies used labor spies. This included 32 mining companies, 28 car companies, and many food companies. One member of the National Labor Relations Board thought that American companies spent $80 million spying on their workers. General Motors alone spent almost $1 million on secret agents to fight the CIO in just two years. General Motors hired 13 different spy agencies to watch workers. They even used the Pinkertons to spy on the agents from the other agencies!
Between 1933 and 1935, the Pinkerton Agency had 1,200 secret agents. They worked from 27 offices. The agency sent agents to 300 companies during the 1930s. In 1936, Robert Pinkerton announced a change for the Pinkerton Agency. He said the days of agencies sending many people to break strikes were over.
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 made it illegal to spy on and scare union activists. It also made it illegal to cause violence or create company-controlled unions. However, spying on workers and bothering them continued, according to people who spoke to Congress in 1957. Other bad actions by labor consulting firms included:
- Changing union elections using bribes or threats.
- Threatening to take away workers' benefits if they joined a union.
- Putting union leaders in place who supported the company.
- Offering rewards to employees who worked against unions.
In 1944, historian J. Bernard Hogg wrote about labor spying. He said Pinkerton agents were found by advertising or by visiting recruiting offices for people who were rejected from the military. They also looked in places where men went to sea as a last resort for work. He said workers saw them as "a 'gang of toughs and ragtails and desperate men.'"
Spy Agencies
Many agencies were involved in labor spying. Some of these included:
- Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency
- Pinkerton National Detective Agency
- William J. Burns International Detective Agency
- Corporations Auxiliary Company
- Sherman Service Company
- Mooney and Boland
- Thiel Detective Service Company
- Berghoff and Waddell
Many other agencies existed too. Each of these companies had offices in many American cities. Often, they used secret names for their branch offices.
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