Posts tagged Jennifer Abruzzo
Antitrust and Modern U.S. Labor Markets: An Economics Perspective
August 3, 2022 // Among the most high-profile initiatives of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) during the Biden Administration has been a focus on using antitrust law to address issues relating to economic inequality, specifically the role that corporate mergers purport to play in undermining labor market competition, and in turn harming workers.[2] Proponents of the FTC’s current approach appeal to academic analysis in support of their argument.[3] We submit that this focus is misguided, and based on flawed assumptions with respect to both the state of the labor market and the purported growth in economic inequality. Rather, we argue, when analyzed correctly, the data regarding workplace flexibility, labor market concentration, and so-called “income inequality” show that, if the FTC continues down this regulatory path, the workers the agency claims to protect will suffer the greatest harm. The application of antitrust law to the labor market is unprecedented and, perhaps more importantly, antithetical to the well-being of workers. For the reasons we explain below, it should be rejected. National Longitudinal Survey, House of Representatives Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, Executive Branch,
Unions Are Adding Some Heat in the Kitchen for Food & Beverage Employers
July 27, 2022 // Food and beverage employers can take some important steps before a union-organizing effort that may not be available once an organizing drive begins. First, employers may want to establish effective lines of communication with their employees, including the utilization of a complaint procedure that is practical and efficient. Fostering a positive work culture that treats all employees with dignity and respect is crucial for maintaining effective communication. Second, employers may want to review their employee handbooks and related policies, such as open-door policies, solicitation policies, confidentiality policies, etc., to ensure they are up-to-date and legally compliant. Lastly, employers may want to consider training supervisors to identify and responding to union organizing in a lawful manner. Training can help avoid unfair labor practice charges that could result in significant costs for employers. food and beverage industry
NLRB Partners With Justice Department To Protect Workers from Antitrust, Labor Law Violations
July 27, 2022 // Through greater coordination in information sharing, enforcement activity and training, the two agencies will maximize the enforcement of federal laws, including the labor laws under the NLRB’s jurisdiction and the antitrust laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, the DOJ’s release states. right to organize, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter,
Rep. Virginia Foxx: NLRB’s Bad Behavior
July 18, 2022 // “By eviscerating the secret ballot, a hallmark of democratic elections, card check makes workers more vulnerable to harassment from union organizers. Don’t forget, a prominent union leader testified before the House Education and Labor Committee that unions need workers’ personal information to harass them ‘at the grocery store,’ or in their own home to pressure them into supporting the union. His admission tells you all you need to know about the political hackery of unions today. “The Biden-appointed NLRB General Counsel has also challenged longstanding precedent regarding employers’ right to educate their employees about the downsides of union representation. General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo believes that such efforts are ‘at odds’ with the ‘fundamental labor laws’ of this country.
Biden NLRB Counsel Rewrites Labor Law History
July 18, 2022 // Prior to the approval of the Taft-Hartley amendments, Big Labor bosses would often present to employers pro-union cards purportedly signed by a majority of their workers and demand to be granted monopoly-bargaining privileges over those employees based on those cards alone, without a vote. Recognizing that many employees signed so-called “union authorization” cards only after being “cajoled, coerced and intimidated,” and in some cases “beaten up,” by Big Labor agents, Congress sought to prevent monopoly-bargaining regimes from being installed when a majority of workers didn’t want one. Lauren McFerran, U.S. Supreme Court’s 1969 Gissel decision, Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, Hannaford Bros. Co., Flomatic Corp., and S.S. Logan Packing Co. , John P. Serpa and 1966 Aaron Brothers cases, Dominick Manoli, Linden Lumber,
NLRB’s Top Prosecutor Seeks Big Changes, Faces Uphill Battle
June 28, 2022 // Abruzzo has signaled it’s one of the many decisions she intends to undo from the Trump era, when cases were spearheaded by her predecessor Peter Robb, who was widely seen by organized labor and Democrats as favoring employers. Biden later fired Robb. “The hypocrisy is off the charts when you think about the employee rights,” Nix said. “When she gets done with the job, she ought to apply for the lobbyist job at the AFL-CIO, because she’s going even farther than union officials have even imagined.” John Logan, San Francisco State University, pro-union experts,
Foxx, Burr, Allen, Braun Call NLRB to Account for Curbing Employers’ Freedom of Speech
June 27, 2022 // Today, House Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC); Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Republican Leader Richard Burr (R-NC); Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Republican Leader Rick Allen (R-GA); and Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee Republican Leader Mike Braun (R-IN) sent a letter to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo regarding guidance that flies in the face of decades of precedent and threatens employers’ First Amendment rights.
Biden Administration Seeks to Limit Employer Speech to Aid in Union Organizing
June 24, 2022 // Recently, leading officials in the Biden administration have taken steps to prevent employers from sharing their lawful views on collective bargaining in order to aid union efforts to organize more employees. These actions range from encouraging employers to refrain from discussing unions with employees, to seeking to prohibit any discussion about unions with employees while they are working. If the National Labor Relations Board ("Board") implements the administration’s actions, it would make it significantly harder for employers to oppose union organizing campaigns and make it easier for employees to organize.
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
Opinion: AMERICAN WORKERS DESERVE BETTER FROM NLRB
June 15, 2022 // Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel announced the NLRB will issue charges asserting employers are violating federal law if they conduct informational meetings with their employees to discuss unionization. The GC’s pejorative characterization of these meetings as “a license to coerce” is as false as it is dangerous. These collaborative employer-employee meetings are very similar to meetings that employers routinely schedule during employees paid working time. These can include meetings about employee benefits as well as anti-discrimination and harassment training. Employees are no more “captive” in these meetings than they are in any other workplace setting. And in fact, employees want the information. EVAN ARMSTRONG, false promises, threats, coercion,