Posts tagged unfair labor practice
The National Labor Relations Board is trying to silence employer speech
December 5, 2022 // The NLRB recently filed a complaint against Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, claiming a statement he made on CNBC constituted an unfair labor practice. When asked about the ongoing campaign to unionize Amazon, Jassy said: “It’s employees’ choice whether or not they want to join a union. We happen to think they’re better off not doing so, for a couple of reasons at least. You know, first, at a place like Amazon that empowers employees, if they see something they can do better for customers or for themselves, they can go meet in a room, decide how [to] change it — and change it. That type of empowerment doesn’t happen when you have unions. It’s much more bureaucratic, it’s much slower. I also think people are better off having direct connections with their managers.”
Food Company Employees File Charges Alleging Union Dues are Being Illegally Deducted from their Paychecks
November 4, 2022 // Employees at Buitoni Food Company have filed charges against their employer and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9555 after union dues deductions resumed despite the workers having revoked their authorization for such payments to be taken out of their paychecks. The federal Unfair Labor Practice charges were filed with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 5 with free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys. The charging workers, Steven Ricketts and Donald Hale, each hand-delivered letters to both USW union officials and to their employer formally resigning their union memberships and revoking their dues check-off authorizations. Because Virginia is one of 27 states with a Right to Work law, union membership and dues payments must be voluntary and cannot be required as a condition of employment. In states without Right to Work laws, workers can legally be fired if they refuse to pay union dues or fees.
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
Media employees face no consequences for ignoring return-to-office requests — yet
October 7, 2022 // The rigidity of media companies’ return-to-office policies range from encouragement to straight-up mandates. But across the board, employees and union members Digiday spoke with at Dotdash Meredith, Hearst, NBC News, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal said they have not heard of anyone who has had to deal with disciplinary actions for continuing to work from home. (Notably, all of these newsrooms are unionized.)
Clovis teachers trying to unionize blame anti-union sentiment for missed deadline
September 22, 2022 // The Association of Clovis Educators, the most recent effort to unionize teachers, said Clovis Unified and its “continued illegal financial support” of the district’s Faculty Senate are barriers to unionizing its teachers. District leaders, however, say the issues are independent and separate from each other. The district won’t discuss the merits of the labor practice claims filed last year with the California Public Employees Relations Board, more commonly known by its acronym, PERB.
Communications Workers of America Files Unfair Labor Complaint Against Verizon Express Portland
August 12, 2022 // This week’s move follows a wave of union organizing among Verizon retail workers. Workers at Seattle-area Verizon stores voted to unionize in April, and in Flint, Michigan, have a pending NLRB union election. Unlike workers at full-service stores, workers at Verizon Express stores do not make a commission on sales, leaving them with less take-home pay compared to workers at other stores. The Portland workers are the first Verizon Express store workers in the country to file for formal union representation. Lori Claxton
Too radical or not radical enough? US’s top labor lawyer in the spotlight
August 8, 2022 // The top lawyer at the body charged with enforcing US labor law has been hailed as a champion by some and as a “radical” by her opponents. For others involved in the white-hot world of union organizing, she has not gone far enough. Abruzzo’s bona fides are clear. She has repeatedly urged the NLRB’s five-person board to adopt new policies that would make it easier to unionize. She wants the board to prohibit so-called captive audience meetings in which Amazon and many other companies require employees to listen to anti-union speeches from managers and consultants. She wants the board to require employers to grant union recognition once a majority of workers sign cards saying they want a union.
SEIU SUES OREGON EMPLOYEE FOR EXPOSING FORGERY
July 18, 2022 // Staci Trees, an employee of Oregon Department of Transportation, resigned her union membership in December 2020, only to learn that SEIU intended to keep deducting regular dues from paychecks, claiming she had signed a membership agreement authorizing it to do so. When she asked to see the document, however, it was so obviously a forgery that even SEIU couldn’t defend its authenticity. Rebekah Millard, Gov. Kate Brown,
Allina ordered to pay $400,000 to union, faces many more anti-labor complaints
July 13, 2022 // The NLRB recently reached a settlement with Allina after SEIU Healthcare Minnesota filed a complaint that the health care system refused to provide merit pay raises for therapists who unionized at one of their hospitals. Although Allina didn’t acknowledge wrongdoing, the NLRB did find merit to the union’s claims and Allina agreed to provide back pay to the workers — about 2-4% raises. An Allina spokeswoman said the company provided merit increases to those employees before the NLRB made its decision. Jamie Gulley, Phillips Eye Institute, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Kern Medical workers announce 3-day strike over ‘unfair labor practice’
July 12, 2022 // Kern Medical workers announced a three-day strike starting July 26 citing concerns over what they called “a series of unfair labor practice” including employee and in-patient safety concerns, staffing shortages and low wages. Workers announced that if the hospital administration does not meet their demands, they will “engage in a three-day unfair labor practice strike.”