Strike Out?

2023 has been a big year for labor unions. With a surge in strikes across the country and public support going strong leading into 2024, here are a few trend to watch: 

• A new era of labor campaigns. These are not your grandparents’ labor campaigns, but modern, sophisticated political-style communications campaigns effectively using social media, graphics, muti-media and memorable slogans to capture public support. 

• Public battles. The days of negotiating behind closed doors are over. Disputes are being waged publicly, with rhetoric linking to broader social conflicts of class warfare, corporate greed and executive compensation.

• Labor is a political football. In 2023, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to walk a picket line, and Democrats and Republicans lawmakers alike voiced solidarity amid growing union popularity. Through the 2024 presidential election and beyond, labor activity is likely to be a campaign issue.

• A pro-labor public and growing union memberships. Unions are experiencing high public approval that can be expected to grow following recent victories and a push to expand membership. Expect unrest to continue into 2024 against new targets.

Cyber attacks involving data theft are a growing threat to organizations. In the event the worst happens, it is vital to have a strategy in place. Jenny Davey, head of the crisis practice at our UK office, talked to Thomson Reuters Practical Law about how in-house legal teams can play a pivotal role in making sure your organization is prepared. 

Here’s what she shared: 

• Building leadership awareness. In-house legal teams help build awareness that cybersecurity is a leadership issue, involving everyone from the C-suite to HR, communications, legal, operations and IT teams. 

• Aligning values and strategy. Cyber incidents should be treated as crises and align response strategies with organizational values. Legal teams contribute to a cross-departmental collaboration and a holistic view of risk management. 

• Building the team. Identify and establish relationships with an experienced incident response team before a cyber attack occurs – including specialists in legal counsel, cyber intelligence and communications.

• Creating a holistic response. Your incident response plan should cover all elements of a cyber response, not just technical aspects. This includes rapidly updating employees, customers and critical business partners during a cyber attack.

• Maintaining vigilance.  Guard against complacency and remain proactive in analyzing risks. Organizations with a well-prepared and drilled team tend to fare better after a cyber attack, leading to lower costs and improved relationships with stakeholders.

• Balancing decisions. In-house legal teams should play a critical role in making decisions that balance technical, legal and reputational considerations to ensure the survival and recovery of the business.

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​“Anything you say can and will be held against you”—under certain conditions. When talking to reporters, the ground rules can be confusing. Especially since not every journalist defines conditions the same. A primer: 

• On the record – Anything you say or do can be quoted, by name.

• Background – Reporters treat background differently so most important is to agree on terms BEFORE an interview. Typically, what you say can be cited, but not by name. You should agree on how you should be identified (company official, someone with knowledge of the situation, etc.) and whether the reporter can use your direct quotes or not. (Some news organizations don’t allow anonymous quotes.)

• Deep background – Typically journalists use deep background to inform their reporting and can cite what you say, but not source it to you and instead must use it in their own voice. Deep background is a good way to point media to relevant facts they can then cite independently. But they should not indicate it came from you.

• Off the record – Proceed with caution. Off the record material is not supposed to be used in reporting at all and only for the reporter’s personal information. However, reporters will sometimes track down what you say from other reportable sources. So a good rule of thumb: Don’t say anything off the record you wouldn’t want to appear in a headline. And most importantly, get agreement to keep the information off the record BEFORE you share it. 

Remember: All these arrangements are mutual personal agreements, not legally binding. So as with all media relations, trusted relationships are key.