4.1 Provide detailed information on the workforce. How many workers? In which plant do they work? What are the demographics of the workforce?
4.2 Is the company unionized? Which union at which facility?
4.3 Are there identifiable worker issues?
Businesses must register with the Secretary of State office in the state they are located. Search Systems provides a meta search for all states in the U.S. and provinces in Canada. The best way to proceed is to choose “Corporations and Companies” and then select the state or province where the firm is headquartered. This will bring you to one or more corporate directories. This may vary by state or province. You can also search by state or province alone and explore all the possible information that is collected.
Open Corporates also provides access to public records on privately held firms worldwide.
The company web site might have additional information on the workforce, but it is frequently difficult to find more detailed demographic information. LinkedIn provides some basic information on employees by searching for the company.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) maintains a database where you can investigate recent NLRB activity. It is a free site, but you must first register. You can search by company to identify if there has been recent NLRB activity at your firm. Unfortunately, the NLRB website will not tell you if your target company is unionized; it only lists recent NLRB activity.
It is best to contact workers to identify worker issues, but there are some resources available online, such as Glassdoor, which includes workers comments about their employer. Social media sites such as Facebook may also be useful.
The AFL-CIO maintains the UNICORE database that includes information on corporate facilities, their location, if they are unionized, and information on the union. This database is only available to AFL-CIO affiliates.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook provides some basic information on wages and benefits by industry.
If there is OSHA activity at a workplace they will indicate if it is unionized and what union represents the workers. See Question 20 for how to access their website.
The Dunn and Bradstreet Report on your firm may contain additional information. You will need to purchase it from D&B.
Free ERSIA provides comprehensive information on company pension plans.
UMass Resources (for UMass students only)
Business Source Complete provides general information on privately held firms and, depending on size, also provides a Medtrack or Market Line report.
Mergent Online is a powerful research tool. It provides comprehensive information on companies that will be useful in multiple research steps.
Mergent Intellect is another excellent gateway site for corporate research. It includes information from Hoovers and the D&B Million Dollar Directory.