Old Labor Tactics Resurface in New Union By Amy Joyce, Washington Post
Unite Here Involves Younger People, Has History of Not Backing Down
One example: Unite, which represented textile workers before its merger, took an unusual tack in negotiations on behalf of airline laundry workers with Royal Airline Laundry Services. The union found workers who said they were being asked to increase productivity by repackaging used blankets and headphones without laundering them first.
So Unite's president, Bruce S. Raynor, started a campaign in late 2000 in which air passengers were given a test tube and swab to find out whether bacteria was crawling on the blankets they cuddled with in their window seats.