Does going public heighten the risk of retaliation?

(Stardusters) were following the steps of a recognition campaign, just without the NLRB election. They believed the owner would see their strength and negotiate. But the union’s coming-out party didn’t have that result. Instead, the owner started firing people for union activity and hired a union-busting lawyer.

At Arrow Messenger, the union of messengers did not go public as a “union”. . . but simply approached the boss with specific demands . . . When bargaining did not yield the results they wanted, a quickie strike and a series of prolonged direct actions won them most of their demands . .