Florabunda, a National Wholesale Plant Supply Company That Caters to Home

Florabunda, a national wholesale plant supply company that caters to home gardeners, maintains greenhouses in several locations. These provide flower and vegetable seedlings for nurseries and garden centres nationwide and also pots of flowering plants, such as tulips and poinsettias, for other holidays. Relations with employees seemed smooth for some years, but over time the firm has come to rely on short-term contingent labour, especially in the spring when Florabunda fulfills large standing orders for bedding plants. At one of its largest greenhouse locations, employees invite the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to represent them as a union. The Florabunda greenhouse engages in collective bargaining with the UFCW. A key issue involves workplace safety, as the greenhouses are often fumigated with pesticides to kill insects. Management claims that it takes customary and effective precautions to protect the health of its workers, whereas the union expresses concerns that the pesticides might cause long-term health problems. It quickly becomes apparent that there is no medical consensus over whether a disputed pesticide causes long-term medical effects, when used according to directions. Management therefore does not want to discontinue use of the pesticide, as replacing it would be costly. However, it proposes to provide more detailed instructions to avoid misuse of the compound, and to train all workers thoroughly. If the union reps are not satisfied, which of the following would be their most productive next step?

A) Threaten a strike if the compound is not removed from use at the greenhouse
B) Concede the point to management and move on to more difficult issues
C) Form a joint subcommittee made up of management and union members, to study the issue more thoroughly
D) Organize a boycott among nurseries and garden centres that deal with the greenhouse
E) Refuse to meet with management negotiators until the union demand is met