IBM and unions

[1]: 60 Founded in 1911 as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Armonk, New York,[2] IBM employs more than 300,000 people in 170 countries,[2][3] primarily in the United States (where it is headquartered) and India.

[4] IBM's non-union status is due in part to its corporate culture, which includes strong employee identification with the company and close relationships between managers and their direct reports.

[12] Previously CPSU organized two 48 hour strike actions after announced plans to fire 64 IBM GSA employees.

[14] 80 employees accepted collectively negotiated contracts concerning severance packages and sick leave in case of future layoffs.

While the Shenzhen branch of All-China Federation of Trade Unions did not support the initial strike, it filed legal claims to reinstate the 20 fired workers.

Company collective agreements [de] would provide a middle ground between regional union bargaining and the more formally regulated works council framework.

In 1994, following corporate restructuring, five non-manufacturing subsidiaries of IBM Germany were created, none of which joined Gesamtmetall, effectively nullifying the collective agreements.

[27][28] One month later, on 24 October, the IBM Italy CEO resigned and the performance bonuses were reinstated, though the company claimed it was unrelated to the strikes.

[29] In 2019, the company rolled out internal HR software that used IBM's Watson artificial intelligence to advise on employee compensation.

[31] It was the first high-tech movement for under represented minorities, to protest lack of equal pay and promote opportunities for young, poor communities.

[33] BWA existed until the early 1990s and had chapters in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Hudson Valley, New York City, and Washington DC.

In 1980, Donaldson filed a complaint with the NLRB and the EEOC alleging unfair labor practices and retaliation against Black employees joining the BWA chapter in Cincinnati.

[34][35] In the 1970s, Lee Conrad founded the IBM Workers United (IBMWU) in Endicott, NY as an independent grassroots union.