Posts tagged bargaining unit
Seattle Mariners Retail Employee Challenges Seattle NLRB Officials’ Refusal to Certify Overwhelming Vote Against Union
October 23, 2023 // Following an overwhelming workplace vote to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union officials, Seattle Mariners MLB retail employee Tami Kecherson filed a Request for Review defending the election result at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, DC. The Request for Review comes after NLRB Region 19 officials in Seattle refused to certify the 50-9 vote result, and instead permitted UFCW union officials to “disclaim” interest in the bargaining unit and avoid restrictions on regaining control over the employees that normally apply to unions that lose elections. National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys are providing free legal aid to Kecherson in her effort to defend the election victory. The Request for Review recounts that, after the worker-requested union decertification vote finally took place, UFCW union officials filed “blocking charges” against Mariners management in an attempt to delay the certification of the vote. “Blocking charges” contain unverified and often groundless allegations of employer interference in a union election.
Vibrant Coffee Roasters baristas and bakers want to unionize
October 18, 2023 // Korshak Bagels, which was the first workplace to unionize with Local 80, closed last month. Theirs was the only Local 80 bargaining unit that had ratified a contract. Others are still bargaining. Employees of Korshak Bagels told Billy Penn that they had pushed for changes in the store’s process and practices that would have allowed greater profits, but the store’s owner resisted those changes. Owner Phil Korshak has said the proposed changes, like automating doughmaking and using computer kiosks for orders and payment, would not be “on brand for Korshak Bagels.” Caiside Ní Chuinn was part of the organizing committee at Good Karma, where they worked for a year-and-a-half, and is now working at Vibrant. Ní Chuinn worked at the Good Karma location that closed in January.
FREEDOM FOUNDATION FILES PERC COMPLAINT AGAINST WFSE CITING DISCRIMINATION, INTERFERENCE WITH LABOR RIGHTS
October 11, 2023 // Additionally, it’s unlawful for exclusive bargaining representatives to “restrain or coerce an employee” in the exercise of their right to not join a union. Conditioning access to equitable representation on a worker joining a union coerces the employee to join the union. As for Fix, he was exclusively represented by WFSE for the purposes of collective bargaining. Therefore, WFSE owed him a duty of fair representation that was breached when Yestramski refused to communicate with him. Public employees like Todd Fix who have no desire to affiliate with unions are constantly bearing the price of exclusive representation regimes, the original sin of modern public-sector labor law principles. In exchange for their compliance with exclusive representation laws, workers have the right to be represented fairly by their exclusive representative. And they have a right to make their own choices about joining a union without fear of losing access to equitable representation.
NUPD sergeant and sergeant detectives vote to be represented by a union
September 28, 2023 // On Sept. 8, the university filed a request for review of the NLRB’s decision and direction of election, citing that the regional director of the case “either misunderstood the evidence, misrepresented it, or simply ignored it — or a combination of all three — and misapplied the law.” The university reiterated its original arguments in opposing the election, saying the sergeants and sergeant detectives have independent judgment when issuing disciplinary and supervisory actions which would disqualify them from unionizing. On Sept. 15, the American Coalition of Public Safety filed a brief in opposition to the request for review, arguing that the university did not meet its burden of proof to show sergeants had supervisory status. Employees with supervisory status, or the ability to impose disciplinary actions and direct other employees using ‘independent judgment,’ are not protected under the National Labor Relations Act.
NEW YORK: Workers at Sage and Coombe Architects Unionize
September 19, 2023 //
UNION CONTRACTS TRAMPLE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS’ AND EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS
September 15, 2023 // “These unconscionable agreements restrict teachers’ First Amendment rights, force them to be members of unions against their will, make it difficult to resign from the union, and even prevent them from learning about competing organizations that provide similar benefits to school employees.” In addition to trampling teachers’ First Amendment rights, the Pelican Institute found that CBAs at two Louisiana school systems grant union members who are parents the opportunity to select a different school that fits their children. Proponents of school choice believe that a child’s zip code shouldn’t determine their destiny. Unions seem to agree, but only if they bestow parents with that choice.
Why you should care about the Cemex decision
September 13, 2023 // Up until the recent Cemex decision, employers could deny recognition of these authorization cards. In such cases, the union would need to petition the NLRB for a secret ballot election. However, under the new standard set by Cemex, the responsibility to petition for a secret ballot election now rests with the employer (with a suggested 14-day time limit). If the employer fails to do so, the union will be certified based on the original card check. Additionally, if the NLRB determines that the employer engaged in unfair labor practices during the election period, it can reject the election petition and certify the union based on card check. So, what does all this mean? It’s now easier for private sector unions to use card check to gain a foothold in workplaces, potentially leading to an increase in coercive practices and intimidation.
As L.A. City Hall staffers consider unionizing, competing unions seek to woo them
September 12, 2023 // The city work force, like the vast majority of the public sector work force across California, is heavily unionized. Staffers for elected officials, however, have long been at-will employees — they can be hired without dealing with civil service requirements, but also lack the protections that a civil service job confers. That’s the norm for staffers to elected officials across the country. But the City Hall effort is far from an outlier.
OHIO LABOR BOARD FINDS CAUSE TO BELIEVE UNION DISCRIMINATED
September 8, 2023 // By law, OAPSE must represent every worker in the bargaining unit, even nonmembers. Accordingly, it also had the obligation to distribute the money to all employees but, to the surprise of exactly no one, OAPSE refused to pay compensation to the seven employees in the bargaining unit who had resigned their union membership. This was OAPSE’s way of retaliating against the non-union employees for having the audacity to keep their own money in their own pockets instead of funding a union that long ago began prioritizing its political and social agenda over advocating for workers. Unfortunately for OAPSE, retaliating against employees because they exercise their First Amendment rights violates not just the U.S. Constitution, but also Ohio law. For its part, the Southington School District clearly made a bad decision when it entrusted OAPSE with $8,000 in employee compensation, and one certainly does not need hindsight to know that OAPSE would end up discriminating against employees who have the courage to stand up to union bullying.
Fox Chase nurses who answer patient phone calls want to join the center’s new nurses union
August 3, 2023 // The nurses at the Temple-owner cancer center unionized in June. Twenty-one nurses who answer patient calls were left out of the bargaining unit.