It was named after General Electric's former vice president Lemuel Boulware, who promoted the strategy.
In contrast to its use in collective bargaining, Boulwarism is a lawful negotiation tactic between private parties.
[4][5] It was part of a larger campaign that was formulated to undermine the authority and persuasiveness of union leadership.
[4][6] Boulware himself suggested that it was a comprehensive education and training path, including a constant flow of corporate messages and documents, in which the employer would try to convince both sides to avoid engaging in conduct that was contrary to their own interests.
[2][4][7] In collective bargaining (union matters), such practices and associated tactics (Boulwarism) were found by the National Labor Relations Board to be an unfair labor practice in violation of the Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Act on a number of different grounds, particularly by breaching of the duty to bargain in good faith, bypassing the union and appealing to the union membership directly.