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Auto Workers Protest BMW Layoffs Outside Jackson Lewis Offices

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on July 29, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Hundreds of Teamsters and BMW employees spent some time outside the varying offices of labor law firm Jackson Lewis this week, protesting the firm's involvement in the car manufacturer's Southern California labor dispute.

Peeved that BMW is replacing union jobs with contract positions, union members chose to protest Jackson Lewis for helping the company "destroy American jobs."

Who thinks the law firm cares?

At the end of August, the Los Angeles Times reports that BMW plans to replace 68 union employees at its Ontario, California plant with contractors, allowing them to skip out on higher wages and benefit packages.

In a press release issued by Teamsters Local 495, union officials have said that they have repeatedly contacted the firm about alternative options, but attorneys at Jackson Lewis have consistently denied their requests.

In response, they chose to protest Jackson Lewis at the firm's San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City offices while carrying signs that read, "Jackson Lewis: Betraying America for BMW $$."

One can't deny that the money-grubbing part of this statement is not far from the truth.

And that, except for the betrayal part, it likely doesn't bother attorneys at Jackson Lewis one bit.

The firm specializes in employer-side labor law and has a reputation of helping companies fight off unionization. This is how they make their money, and by all accounts, they do a pretty good job at earning it.

If anything, the decision to protest Jackson Lewis is bringing the firm more attention, and in the end, more clients who they can help "destroy American jobs" for "$$."

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