Posts tagged Labor Law
Noncompete clauses ‘chill’ worker rights and are usually illegal, NLRB lawyer says
May 31, 2023 // General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, appointed by Biden in 2021, wrote that noncompete clauses — which generally prevent people from immediately moving to one of their employer's rivals — "tend to chill" workers' rights under federal law, specifically Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the ability to collectively organize and agitate for improved working conditions. A person barred from moving to another company in their chosen profession, at least for a set amount of time, is less likely to fight for change at their current employer, Abruzzo argued in the memo, issued Tuesday, knowing that could well make them a target for termination; employers likewise have little reason to fear that disgruntled workers will be snatched up by a competitor, thus reducing the latter's bargaining power.
New California law that facilitates farmworker unionization could already see changes
May 12, 2023 // In a Majority Support Petition, a union would be certified to represent workers after it submits proof that it has the support, typically in the form of collected signatures, of a majority of workers within a workplace to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Unions prefer the majority support process because the formal election process can be a drawn-out process that gives employers time to discourage unionization, sometimes through illegal means, such as threats.
Opinion: What Can We Learn from Growing Federal Sector Unions? (Hint: Maybe Clean Slate Works)
April 11, 2023 // Biden did much more than just not be Trump or speak in support of labor generally. His administration also put in place several polices that created conditions of true neutrality. For example, the Office of Personnel Management put out memos to ensure that federal managers maintained real neutrality during organizing campaigns. Those memos directed managers to consult with labor-management specialists before responding to employees’ questions about organizing to ensure that they did not convey any inaccurate or biased information. OPM also directed federal managers to actually make it easier for unions to organize. For the first time, agencies are required to allow unions to post information about their organization and contact information for union representatives on office bulletin boards, public websites, or employee-only intranets. OPM also directed agencies to share a list of bargaining-unit employees and their work email addresses with union officials and to invite unions to participate in the orientation process for new bargaining unit employees. The Biden Administration also encouraged agencies to restart labor-management forums, which the Trump Administration had tried to shut down.
Voluntary Recognition of Unions Is Increasingly Popular Among U.S. Employers
January 23, 2023 // In January 2023, Microsoft recognized a union of playtesters at its subsidiary ZeniMax Studios; Major League Baseball voluntarily recognized minor league players’ choice to join the Major League Baseball Players Association in September; workers at a number of media organizations had their unions recognized throughout 2021 and 2022; and mission-driven organizations such as charities, museums, civil rights and environmentalist groups, think tanks, and other nonprofits all voluntarily recognized worker unions as well. Other businesses, including The Metals Company, Forever Energy, and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, signed neutrality agreements with unions, under which the firms agreed to refrain from engaging in anti-union tactics during an election. Some companies have communicated that they have pursued voluntary recognition because their own organizations’ goals broadly align with those of workers. In particular, a number of mission-driven organizations have opted for voluntary recognition in recent years, including the Whitney Museum, the Shed, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles, the Brookings Institution, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Capital Roots, Code for America, and others. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national nonprofit that litigates to protect civil liberties, first voluntarily recognized the unionization of national staffers with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70, also called the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, in 2021.* One of the ACLU’s state affiliates, the ACLU of Texas, also recognized its workers’ choice to unionize with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320 in 2022. Indeed, as the ACLU of Texas stated after recognizing its employee union: Media and news organizations have seen some of the largest voluntary recognition agreements signed in the United States. Along with workers at Politico, The Atlantic, Public News Service, The State, and others, employees at Condé Nast won voluntary recognition for their staff union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2022. Spurred on by their co-workers at The New Yorker and other Condé Nast publications that voted in favor of joining the NewsGuild-CWA in 2018, these workers organized a union that covers 500 workers, including 100 subcontractors. Workers have also won voluntary recognition in the entertainment industry, including at the International Documentary Association, Seven Seas Entertainment, and the iHeartPodcast Network, as well as through the Animation Guild.
Restaurant Employees Will See Huge Pay Raises Nationwide
January 12, 2023 // Laws, like the FAST ACT, plus the unionization of restaurant employees are boosting the minimum wage for restaurant employees.
Amazon union victory at Staten Island warehouse upheld by federal labor board
January 12, 2023 // A federal labor agency on Wednesday certified an independent union’s landmark victory at Amazon ’s Staten Island warehouse and threw out a litany of objections filed by the e-retailer. In a filing Wednesday, Cornele Overstreet, a director of the NLRB’s Phoenix-based office, said he agreed with a federal labor official’s prior ruling that all of Amazon’s objections should be dismissed.
The Supreme Court hears a case this week that endangers workers’ ability to strike
January 10, 2023 // Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters should be a straightforward case. But nothing is ever straightforward in this Supreme Court.
D.C.’s Union Kitchen Slapped With 26 Counts Of Labor Law Violation
November 10, 2022 // In its ruling, the NLRB orders Union Kitchen to reinstate the wrongfully fired employees, provide backpay, and that Union Kitchen owner Cullen Gilchrist must publicly apologize to employees at a “meeting or meetings scheduled to ensure the widest possible attendance.” Union Kitchen, represented in the NLRB complaint by Gilchrist, is required to respond to the board by Nov. 18. A hearing has been set for February 13, 2023, where Gilchrist will have an opportunity to testify against the allegations before an administrative law judge with NLRB. The judge will then determine whether to issue the remedies called for in the formal complaint. Gilchrist did not immediately return DCist/WAMU’s request for comment.
Freedom of Speech? Not if the National Labor Relations Board Gets Its Way
October 31, 2022 // Amazon unionization efforts recently failed in Albany, NY in October. Workers said no by an almost 2 to 1 margin. In total, less than a quarter of all employees voted for representation by the Amazon Labor Union. Shortly after, the union withdrew its petition to try to organize a California warehouse. It also lost a second vote in Staten Island in May. Amazon workers are clearly saying no to unionization. The NLRB and unions are responding by threatening a bedrock constitutional right of all Americans.
Starbucks says union broke rules by recording talks in 5 places
October 28, 2022 // The NLRB prohibits recordings or transcripts of contract negotiations and has previously argued against recording bargaining sessions