Posts tagged National Labor Relations Act
The NLRB Harassment Carve-Out
May 30, 2024 // The NLRB may be fine with racism and sexism, but the Senate should oppose it. Ms. McFerran’s term expires in December, and regardless of what happens in November’s presidential election, Republicans and Democrats alike should demand a nominee who will stand against discrimination.
Op-Ed: To win the South, unions should embrace right to work
April 30, 2024 // Workers might even be more inclined to back a union if they knew that the union leadership had to be mindful of the members' concerns. And if a union has so few paying members that it collapses, then maybe it should fail. That lack of support indicates its members didn't see much value in it. It remains to be seen if unions like UAW can learn to live with right to work laws in the first place or if they try to fight them. Union leaders by and large hate the laws precisely because they give them less control over the members and potentially leave the unions in a weak financial state.
IN POSSIBLE TEST OF FEDERAL LABOR LAW, GEORGIA COULD MAKE IT HARDER FOR SOME WORKERS TO JOIN UNIONS
February 12, 2024 // he state Senate voted 31-23 on Thursday for a bill backed by Gov. Brian Kemp that would bar companies that accept state incentives from recognizing unions without a formal secret-ballot election. That would block unions from winning recognition from a company voluntarily after signing up a majority of workers, in what is usually known as a card check. Senate Bill 362 moves to the House for more debate. Union leaders and Democrats argue the bill violates 1935’s National Labor Relations Act, which governs union organizing, by blocking part of federal law allowing companies to voluntarily recognize unions that show support from a majority of employees.
Labor unions, with power and popularity rising, are still trailing in the biggest nationwide battle
January 29, 2024 // But according to the Gallup polling, only one in six Americans live in a household with a union member, and its polling, as well as polling by others, shows that nonunion workers remains divided, about fifty-fifty, on interest in joining a union — Gallup's 2022 polling showed the percentage of nonunion workers who were not interested in membership as high as 58%.
SpaceX Claims National Labor Board Is Unconstitutional In New Suit
January 8, 2024 // SpaceX is responding with a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Brownsville Division, arguing that the NLRB, which has its own judges that oversee complaints by NLRB prosecutors, is an “unconstitutionally structured agency” without oversight, and that the complaint against it should be put on hold.
Some Workers Try to Free Themselves from Unionization, Biden Officials Try to Dragoon More In
January 5, 2024 // If the union loses the election, it often files an “unfair labor practice” charge against the company, seeking to invalidate the election. It used to be that after such a charge (assuming that an NLRB administrative law judge found it credible, which was usually the case), the remedy would be to order a new election. But now, the NLRB is making the remedy an order that the union has “won” and that the company must bargain with it. (Compulsory bargaining is another concept that’s contrary to the freedom that common law protected.) That was the ruling in I.N.S.A, Inc. This is “administrative law” at its worst. Under the Constitution, Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, is supposed to make the laws. But Biden’s pro-union appointments to the NLRB are determined to make the law under the guise of “interpreting” the NLRA. This ruling will lead to more compulsory unionism.
Heightened labor scrutiny looms over workplace rules
January 3, 2024 // The National Labor Relations Board earlier this year changed how it evaluates employer workplace rules in a way that’s expected to expose a broader range of rules to enforcement by regulators, even for employers who haven’t faced any union activity. “When [employers] make a business decision at a critical point in time — like when there’s a union campaign — there can become a presumption that the reason is not because there’s a business justification for it, but because it somehow relates to the union activity,” Chris Foster, a partner in the labor and employment law practice at McDermott Will & Emery, told Legal Dive.
Amazon, Starbucks worker unions are in limbo, even as UAW and others triumph
December 29, 2023 // More than two years have passed since the first Starbucks stores voted to unionize in Buffalo, N.Y. Close to 380 Starbucks stores have since followed. But not one has a contract. Starbucks and Workers United, the union representing the vast majority of unionized Starbucks stores, have each accused the other of not bargaining in good faith.
Ban of BLM Apparel by Whole Foods Ruled Legal
December 29, 2023 // Administrative Law Judge Ariel Sotolongo ruled that BLM masks, T-shirts, and other apparel worn by Whole Foods employees during the 2020 riots was not protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act because it had little connection to the Whole Foods workers’ jobs. The NLRB General Counsel, who prosecutes unfair labor practice cases, had argued that workers wore the attire in 2020 to make black coworkers feel safe and supported amid a series of nationwide protests lead by BLM. The general counsel claimed banning the apparel violated workers’ rights to advocate for better working conditions. But Judge Sotolongo said that regardless of individual workers’ motivations, the general counsel failed to show that workers had a collective goal related to their employment.
Cannabis workers across Missouri begin push to unionize dispensaries
December 11, 2023 // One of the things that draws people to the industry is the camaraderie among employees who are passionate about cannabis, Shannon said. And that’s also what makes it the perfect breeding ground for organizing. “Cannabis workers are the right community,” he said. “This is a tight-knit community that takes care of each other. They’re already learning that … having a union backing you up, it’s the only way to truly make a difference. I’ve been telling people, ‘Wait till you feel that contract high.’”