NLRB Issues Complaint Against Union for Unilaterally Printing Weingarten Statement on CBA
Law360 (subscription) reports today on a Complaint issued by the NLRB against the California Nurses Association for unilaterally printing a statement regarding employee "Weingarten Rights" on the inside cover of its CBA with various healthcare institutions. The Complaint alleges that this conduct violates the employees' rights to refrain from union activity, as well as the Act's requirement that parties refrain from unilateral modifications to the terms of their agreements. From Law360:
Printing the rights on collective bargaining agreements implies that employees must have a union representative present, impeding their right to choose to avoid unions altogether, the complaint says. Moreover, including the text on the agreements without the employers' permission amounts to unilaterally altering the terms and conditions of employment, the office claims.
* * *The 227-bed Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union in October. The CNA has represented the hospital's full-time, part-time and per diem registered nurses since 2000, the complaint says.
The hospital and the union signed off on a collective bargaining agreement in April 2009, and the union was supposed to print up copies for the employees but instead distributed copies to employees that include a copy of the Weingarten Rights printed on the back, according to the complaint.
The hearing in this case is scheduled for August 1, 2011 in Los Angeles.
