The "Next Step"

To the entire team at the Hagerstown Hub:

This week, we saw something different on the floor. We saw senior leadership handing out free food, engaging with staff, and distributing flyers titled "Taking the next step together." (See Below)

First and foremost, we want to say: Thank you.

Seeing management present, engaged, and showing appreciation is a positive change. It is exactly the kind of "Open-Door culture" we all want to see thrive here. However, the sudden intensity of this response suggests there might be a misunderstanding about who we are and what "The Purple Plague" initiative is trying to achieve.

It feels like we are seeing a textbook response to a union drive—the sudden "love offerings," the increased presence of management, the captive audience messaging—tactics outlined in labor relations guides as "Union Busting 101." We can see some examples of Union Busting tactics below that match up with dialogue used in the distributed propaganda (flyer) from Senior Management.

Jobs With Justice Education Fund. (2022). Unionbusters 101 (Primer).
Retrieved from https://www.jwj.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unionbusters101.pdf

But here is the reality that everyone needs to hear:
These tactics are unnecessary because we are not starting a union.

We Are Not Seeking a Union. We Are Seeking Solutions.

The "Purple Plague" is not an external organization. We are not paying dues to a third party. We are simply a group of anonymous employees who believe that the Hagerstown Hub can be better.

When management deploys anti-union strategies—like using food to distract from policy issues or framing mandatory overtime as an "opportunity"—it creates a dynamic of "Us vs. Them."

We reject that dynamic. There is no "Them." There is only Us—the people who make the operation run.

Our goal is not to create a new layer of bureaucracy or start a fight. Our goal is to address the specific, long-overdue issues that make our jobs harder and less safe than they need to be.

The "Minor Improvements" We Actually Want

We don't need a union contract to fix a broken roller-line. We don't need collective bargaining to reduce the extreme pressure from chronic understaffing. We simply need the company to follow the policies it has already written.

The improvements we are advocating for are practical, reasonable, and beneficial for everyone:

1. Operational Efficiency & Equipment Maintenance: We would prefer not to keep running back and forth to break jams on damaged roller lines all day long. Fixing the equipment—specifically the damaged rollers, RTLs, scanners, belts, and chutes—isn't just about safety; it's about allowing us to do our jobs efficiently without unnecessary strain. We want to battle the flow, not the building.
   
   

2. Scheduling Consistency: Realistic shift scheduling respects our time and safety.

   1. When shifts are run too close or overlap, they create a predictable major traffic jam in the parking lot and access roads. This is not just an inconvenience; it creates a high-risk pedestrian safety hazard that wastes valuable time that should be spent resting. Better scheduling equals a safer arrival and departure for every employee.

   2. Due to shifts running too closely together or excessive workload, we often do not receive the full, uninterrupted 30-minute meal break we need. We are forced to choose between missing out on a legally mandated rest period or being late for the start of the next shift.
      
      

3. Appreciation and Recognition: We acknowledge the company flyer pictured above that mentioned rewards programs and an "Open-Door Policy." However, we want that these programs move from paper to practice. If the we do have genuine systems for recognizing safe work and good performance, why don't we see them consistently applied on the floor? We want to see these programs in practice.
   

A Better Way to Spend Resources

Think about the resources currently spent on union-busting: the time managers spend tracking the website, the cost of printing counter-propaganda fliers, and the expense of emergency "love offerings." Imagine if that same energy was spent fixing the safety-violating equipment on the docks. Imagine if the budget for unnecessary "anti-organizing" efforts was put toward a Peak Surge Incentive to genuinely reward us for our mandatory extra labor and dedication.

If management simply addressed these practical, visible issues, there would be no need for a campaign. The "Purple Plague" isn't something you have to destroy. Show improvement, fix the hazards, and we will willingly dissolve.

Let's Truly Take the Next Step Together

To management: You don't need to "bust" us. We are your employees. We are the ones who care enough to point out where the operation is failing.

To our co-workers: Enjoy the free food. Take the flyers. But remember that a snack doesn't fix a safety hazard, a T-shirt doesn't heal your broken body, and a flyer doesn't pay your bills.

Let’s skip the union-busting playbook and go straight to the part where we fix the hub.

We are ready to work. Are you ready to listen?