5th Circuit Nixes Board Ruling: Daniel Wilson of Law360 ($$) writes that this past Monday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a National Labor Relations Board decision that had held that a trade group had unlawfully discriminated against union members. The 2-1 decision by the 5th Circuit explicitly held that the Board's decision violated due process because the Board changed its theory of liability at the appeals stage.
By facing a wider theory of liability than it had reasonably expected, involving different standards of proof than the theory it had prepared to defend against, IECH had been placed in a “no-win” situation, the panel majority ruled.
A short dissent noted that the trade group had waived its defenses by not seeking reconsideration of the Board's decision. Neither party immediately responded to requests for comment.
CWA to Launch Attack Ads on Cablevision: Laura Kusisto of the Wall Street Journal reports that starting tonight, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) is planning to kick off a massive public relations campaign in newspaper and television ads in support of its workers' dispute with Cablevision. Interestingly, the dispute has garnered a great deal of attention from New York City's mayoral candidates, with most major Democratic candidates rallying around the union.
The dispute began not long after Cablevision workers voted to unionize in early 2012. This past winter, 22 workers lost their jobs when they attempted to strike. However, a Cablevision spokesman noted in a short statement that all of the terminated strikers have been rehired.
This dispute is already ugly and is getting louder very quickly. We will certainly keep you posted as the parties work through their issues.
Kansas Teachers Vote to Decertify: James Sherk and Michael Cirrotti of The Foundry report that teachers in Deerfield, Kansas have voted to no longer be represented by the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) for the purpose of collective representation. The teachers had to cut through a lot of red tape in order to even hold a decertification vote, but they believe it was worth it.
“The desire is for teachers to participate at the [bargaining] table, to have free access to information,” [a leader of the decertification campaign] said. “In our little school district, there’s no reason we can’t sit down at the table and work out our issues.”
A spokesperson for the National Education Association did not comment for the story. This story is noteworthy primarily because public-sector teachers rarely attempt to decertify. Despite middling levels of discontent regarding public-sector unions in general, this decertification vote most likely does not signal the start of a trend. However, we will certainly be watching this issue and will keep you posted.
D.C. Circuit Hears that Board Is Playing By Its Own Rules: Ben James at Law360 ($$) writes that last Friday, several parties filed a joint brief in the D.C. Circuit, arguing that the National Labor Relations Board is acting in direct contravention of the Circuit's January Noel Canning ruling. Santa Fe Tortilla, Encino Hospital, and Jeannette Geary urged the court in their brief to halt all Board activities until the NLRB has a quorum of members. Only then, the brief posits, can the Board appropriately assert its jurisdiction.
“After Noel Canning’s authoritative determination, Petitioners are justified in seeking to prevent a Board with no constitutional power from acting to their detriment. This Court has the power and duty to protect its own jurisdiction,” the joint brief said.
Neither side could immediately be reached for comment. However, this is certainly not the last challenge we will see to the Board's authority to act. These cases will be coming thick and fast until the Supreme Court has the opportunity to step in and resolve the current quagmire that has enveloped the Board. We will certainly keep you posted.
AZ Cab Drivers Looking to Unionize: The Arizona Daily Star reports that cab drivers in the Tucson area have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in order to vote on whether the group desires to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining. The cab drivers are being organized by the Tucson Hacks Association, who filed the petition on behalf of the cab drivers on June 11, 2013. A hearing on whether the drivers are actually employees or independent contractors is set for Tuesday. If the drivers are found not to be employees, they will not be able to hold a certification vote. We will keep you posted on the results of next week's hearing.
PA Teachers Ready to Strike: Bethany Hofstetter of the Tribune-Review reports that teachers in the Shaler, Pennsylvania area have stated that they will go on strike if a deal regarding a new contract cannot be reached with school district officials over the summer break. The strike notice was delivered by the Shaler Area Education Association (SAEA) and is scheduled to begin on September 3, 2013, the first day of the school year.
SAEA teachers have been working under a contract that expired in August of 2011. If the teachers do actually strike, the two sides will be forced to enter into interest arbitration, whereby a disinterested panel will essentially cobble together a contract for the parties. We will keep you posted as the negotiations progress.
WI High Court Takes Up Union Bargaining Row: Sindhu Sundar of Law360 ($$) reports that last Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the state's law restricting public-sector collective bargaining. Last April, a Wisconsin appellate court had ruled that while public-sector employees do not have a constitutional right to organize collectively, they do have a right to not be treated differently from other employees. In its April ruling, the appeals court pleaded with the Supreme Court to pick up the issue.
“With respect to the public employee collective bargaining rights issue in this appeal, it is hard to imagine a dispute with greater statewide effect or with a greater need for a final resolution by the supreme court,” the state appeals court had said in its April 25 decision. “Although the parties do not address the topic, news accounts suggest that several municipal employers are engaged in legal disputes relating to this topic, and many more are left in limbo wondering whether they are better off engaging in some type of tentative bargaining or refusing to engage with employee representatives.”
Neither party immediately responded to requests for comment Friday. We will be following this matter closely as it moves toward briefing, oral argument, and a final decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court and will certainly keep you posted.
NBAPA Will Wait to Replace Union Head Until Finals are Over: ESPN.com reports that the NBA Players Association (NBAPA) is in no rush to replace its recently ousted Union head, Billy Hunter. Hunter was voted out in February after a lengthy internal investigation revealed questionable business practices and probable conflicts of interest in various business transactions. An NBAPA spokesman suggested that the nine-member Players Association executive committee will seek player input before reaching out to a search firm. We will keep you updated as the process moves forward.
Mediator Called Upon to Help Kickstart Stalled BART Negotiations: WNYC.com reports that representatives of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority (BART) have asked a federal mediator to step into their labor dispute in order to avert a possible labor strike. BART management must negotiate a new contract with five separate labor unions before the current contract expires on June 30, or labor unrest could ensue. The unions have suggested that they will not back down from a confrontation, making the mediator's job that much more critical. We will keep you updated as to any progress in the currently-stalled talks.
House GOP Looking to Revise NLRA: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced two measures that would effectively amend the National Labor Relations Act. The proposed pieces of legislation, referred to as HR 2346 and HR 2347, would protect workers' rights to a secret ballot and would also nix a recent Board ruling that the GOP says allows for "micro-unions."
“The last thing workers need is special interests and government bureaucrats advancing policies that create division in workplaces and undermine their fundamental freedoms,” said House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. “The legislation introduced today will protect workers’ right to a secret-ballot election and end job-destroying micro-unions.
Democrats ripped the proposed measures, saying that they were blatant assaults on union rights. In a short statement, a Democratic spokesperson opined that the measures have no chance of becoming law. We will be watching this legislation closely and will certainly keep you up to date.
Employees Reject Pay-Cut; Layoffs On the Horizon: Emily Previti of The Patriot News reports that union workers in Harrisburg, PA have rejected a 5% pay cut, setting the stage for public-sector layoffs in the city. The employees, who are teachers in the Harrisburg school system, tentatively agreed to the deal last week. However, the measure failed in a vote. We will certainly keep you posted on any progress made in the Harrisburg negotiations.
Oakland City Workers Vote to Approve Strike: Matthew Artz of the Oakland Tribune reports that Oakland city workers, represented by the SEIU and the IFPTE, have voted in favor of a strike because negotiations with city officials over a new contracted have stagnated. The primary sticking points between the parties have been a lack of raises for public sector employees over several years, as well as how to allocate rising health care costs.
While a strike date has not been set, there are rumblings of a two-day labor stoppage around the July 4th holiday weekend. We here at @LRToday will keep you posted on any new developments.
UMWA Accuses Patriot Coal of Walking Out of Labor Talks: Maria Chutchian of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, representatives of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) accused Patriot Coal of walking away from contract talks. Patriot quickly denied the allegations, referring to them as inaccurate. The talks have come as a result of a court ruling last month allowing the company to slash workers' health-care and retirement pension benefits as Patriot moves through bankruptcy.
In a follow-up statement, Patriot said that it had offered the union millions of dollars in health care and wage increases. However, implementing the major changes advocated by the UMWA would end up costing Patriot more than $40million per year. The statement further warned that a strike now would likely lead to liquidation instead of a reorganization.
This fight is just heating up and further mud-slinging is to be expected as Patriot teeters on the edge of a shutdown. We will certainly be watching this story and will update you with any developments.
Board ALJ Orders Hospital Back to Negotiating Table: Debbie Ramsay of the Fallbrook Village News writes that on Tuesday, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered Fallbrook Hospital back to the negotiating table. In issuing the 10(j) injunction, the ALJ ruled that Fallbrook would either have to consider proposals from the California Nurses Association, or would have to come up with its own collective bargaining agreement terms that would then be presented to the hospital's nurses.
In addition to forcing Fallbrook to negotiate with the nurses' union, the ALJ listed out several terms that must be discussed between the parties. Those include negotiating over the terminations of two employees, who were purportedly terminated for poor performance.
Mass. Nurses Ass'n Ratifies Labor Pacts: Robert Weisman of the Boston Globe reports that nurses at Quincy Hospital and the UMass Memorial Medical Center have both ratified labor pacts with hospital management. Both sets of nurses were represented in negotiations by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
Nurses at Quincy engaged in a one-day strike in early April in order to put pressure on the contract talks, while UMass nurses had also recently threatened to strike. Terms of the agreements were not released, other than both will last for three years.
DC Circuit Hears Board Fatally "Tainted": Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that attorneys for Santa Fe Tortilla Co. recently argued that the National Labor Relations Board's refusal to comply with D.C. Circuit law has fatally "tainted" its ability to seek an injunction against the chip and tortilla company. In contrast, the Board argued that it should still be allowed to issue injunctions so that its ability to decide cases would not be negatively affected.
“The NLRB's argument in this opposition and throughout this entire proceeding is fatally tainted by its continued disobedience of the rule of law in this Circuit. This Court clearly held that the NLRB does not have a Constitutional quorum and, thus, the NLRB may not legally act,” said Monday's reply filing.
In essence, Santa Fe Tortilla is arguing that the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning ruling should preclude the Board's ability to seek and issue injunctions under section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act. With the Board already in a state of flux, a D.C. Circuit ruling invalidating the Board's ability to issue injunctions would effectively neuter its enforcement capabilities until the Supreme Court has the opportunity to pass on the issue. We have been watching all issues related to the Board's ability to act very closely and will certainly keep you up to date on any new developments.
Board Seeking Sanctions Against Newspaper In Contravention of D.C. Circuit Order: Bill McMorris of the Washington Free Beacon writes that the National Labor Relations Board is pursuing sanctions against the Santa Barbara Free Press, even though the D.C. Circuit has recently ruled that such sanctions would threaten the paper's First Amendment rights. The Board has ordered the newspaper to reimburse three workers who were ostensibly fired for biased reporting. However, the D.C. Circuit held in December of 2012 that the paper was within its First Amendment rights to terminate the employees. The court explained its reasoning at the time as follows:
“The First Amendment affords a publisher—not a reporter—absolute authority to shape a newspaper’s content,” the appeals court ruled [emphasis theirs]. “‘Journalistic integrity,’ as conceived by the board and the reporters, requires a publisher’s cession of some of its editorial control, the First Amendment precludes government coercion in its name.”
Neither a Board nor a Free Press spokesperson could be reached for comment at the time of this story's publishing.
St. Louis Transit Workers Ready to Strike: KMOV St. Louis reports that yesterday, metro workers in St. Louis voted to authorize a strike after contract talks between employees and management officials broke down in a mediation session. The employees, represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), have been working without a contract since January of 2011. The major sticking points between the parties involve pay increases, as well as changes to employee pension and benefit plans.
Board Holds That PLU Faculty Can Unionize: Gabriel Spitzer of NPR reports that the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that adjunct faculty at Pacific Lutheran University should be allowed to form a union. The Board's Northwest Region found that PLU faculty should be allowed to vote on unionization because PLU is not technically a religious institution since neither students nor faculty are subject to religious requirements.
A PLU spokesman revealed that an appeal of the Region's decision was already in the works. Furthermore, the whole decision could get nixed because of the uncertainty surrounding the validity of the Board's decision-making in light of January's Noel Canning decision. We will certainly keep you posted as this matter moves forward.
Labor Unions Pushing Hard for Immigration Reform: Kevin Liptak of CNN writes that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has purchased more than $1million in advertisements designed to help push Congress towards comprehensive immigration reform. The ads will air throughout the month of June.
Initially, labor unions such as the SEIU were fighting tooth and nail with business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce over the terms of the reform measures. However, there is a glimmer of hope that a bill could get passed now that the Chamber and Union leaders have reached an agreement over guest worker programs. We have been watching this legislation closely and will certainly keep you posted.
SEIU Janitors Strike at Minneapolis Target: Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post reports that contract janitors at Target stores in Minneapolis have voted to go on a two-day workers' strike. The striking janitors are primarily concerned with what they believe are substandard wages, but are also ostensibly protesting the termination of several employees over the last couple of months. A Target spokesman declined to comment, other than to state that Target does not employ the janitors.
NLRB Judge Shoots Down Red Cross' Confidentiality Rule: Ben James at Law360 ($$) writes that this past Tuesday, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge held that the American Red Cross had violated federal labor law by enforcing a policy barring the disclosure of confidential company information. Confidential information, in turn, was found to include information concerning "personnel," which the ALJ held could cover wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment.
“By defining confidential information as including information regarding 'personnel' and 'employees' the CIIPA would be reasonably understood by employees to prohibit the disclosure of information including wages and terms of conditions of employment to other employees or to nonemployees, such as union representatives,” Administrative Law Judge Mark Carissimi said in his decision Tuesday, concluding that the confidentiality provision of the agreement violated the NLRA.
Neither party responded to a request for comment. This case will probably be appealed to the full Board, which is to be expected in light of the recent turmoil surrounding the NLRB's validity. We will certainly keep you posted as to any updates.
Precision CastParts Employees Set for Union Vote: CBS affiliate KTVL reports that more than 2,000 employees at Precision CastParts in Portland, Oregon will soon vote on whether to be represented by a International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) for the purpose of collective bargaining and representation. The election, to be supervised by the National Labor Relations Board, will begin today and conclude tomorrow. Management officials have not commented publicly on the vote, but have expressed private concerns over the necessity of having a union on campus. We will keep you posted as the votes are tallied.
Baseball Players' Union Urges Caution in Steroid Case: Steve Eder of the New York Times writes
that the Major League Baseball Players' Association has sounded a note of caution as to whether to jump to conclusions over recent allegations that some of its stars have continued to use steroids and over performance-enhancing drugs. The union has been in regular contact with the Commissioner's office regarding its investigation into a clinic that purportedly gave PEDs to several high-profile MLB players.
The Players' Association has stated that they will represent the athletes in any disciplinary proceedings once a full and fair investigation has taken place. If and when the Commissioner doles out his punishment, those fines or suspensions can be appealed to an arbitrator under the parties' current collective-bargaining agreement. We will certainly keep you posted as the matter moves toward a resolution.
Board ALJ Nixes Mandatory Arbitration Policy: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) writes that a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled recently that MasTec's mandatory arbitration policy ran afoul of the National Labor Relations Act, even though the policy allows MasTec's employees to opt out should they so desire.
“The Act grants to employees the right to engage in protected concerted activities without interference by his/her employer,” Judge Bibliowitz's decision said. “As these rights are granted by the Act, an employer may not lawfully require its employees to affirmatively act (opt out, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of the Employee Handbook) in order to obtain or maintain these rights.”
The ALJ further noted that the employees who did opt out would not be able to act in concert with those who were still subject to the policy, which would violate the employees' section 7 right to act in concert for mutual aid and protection. Neither side immediately responded to a request for comment, but an appeal to the full Board is expected.
Charter School Teachers To Vote On Unionization: Jenna Ebersole of the Pocono Record reports that teachers at Pocono Mountain Charter School in Pennsylvania will cast their votes as to whether they wish to be represented by the Pennsylvania State Education Association for the purpose of collective bargaining and representation. The head of the PSEA said in a statement that Pocono's teachers have been working toward a vote since last fall, when they first contacted the Union about the possibility of joining.
Whether or not charter school teachers can unionize is a hot-button issue, with the National Labor Relations Board ruling only last fall that charter school teachers are private employees subject to the National Labor Relations Act. We will keep you posted as to the results of the upcoming vote.
NHL, Players' Union Negotiate Over Player Safety: Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News writes that the National Hockey League has been negotiating with the NHL Players Association for some time over various safety issues, including the mandatory use of a face shield. It is estimated that almost 3/4 of players already wear visors, so it is not expected to cause much friction once the policy is implemented. Further, players with at least 26 games' experience will be grandfathered through and will not be subject to the policy. We will keep you posted with any further NHL/NHLPA developments.
IUOE Looking to Nix IN's Right To Work Law: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) writes that last Friday, attorneys for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) argued that the Seventh Circuit should overturn dismissal of its lawsuit attempting to invalidate Indiana's new Right to Work law. The attorneys' main argument was that Indiana's law, which prevents labor unions from mandatorily collecting union dues, is preempted by federal labor law.
“The Indiana Right to Work law burdens union members and the union itself by requiring them to bear the full cost of representing 'free riders,' which in turn diverts union resources away from voluntary First Amendment activity,” the brief said.
Neither side commented after argument, but the Governor's office is confident that the law will be upheld based on the lower court's dismissal of the IUOE's suit. We will certainly be watching this matter closely and will keep you posted with any developments.
Board Files Host of ULPs Against NJ Hospital: Susan Livio of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports
that the National Labor Relations Board has filed a litany of unfair labor practice charges against Meadowlands Hospital in New Jersey. Among the more serious charges are that the hospital laid off 50 workers without regard to seniority and unilaterally implemented several major terms and conditions of employment.
"This complaint is an important recognition that the owners of Meadowlands Hospital have repeatedly and deliberately violated the rights and working conditions of healthcare workers, and it has cost employees millions in lost wages, unpaid medical claims and retirement pay," [a spokesman for the employees said.]
Neither the hospital nor a Board spokesperson could be reached for comment on the story. We will keep you informed as this matter is investigated and moves toward a resolution.
Union Alleges CTA Violating Seniority Rules: John Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune reports that members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) have begun protesting against what they believe are contract violations being committed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). In particular, ATU has alleged that CTA has refused to honor the seniority provisions in the newly-signed contract between the parties, causing customer service employees to lose their preferred hours in some instances. The protests just began yesterday and are expected to continue throughout the week.
Workforce Committee Not a Fan of DOL's Persuader Rule: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that last Thursday, the House Education and Workforce Committee sent a letter to the US Department of Labor providing that the DOL's proposed "Persuader Rule" should be withdrawn as it could negatively impact the attorney-client relationship. The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) generally requires that employers report any efforts to directly or indirectly persuade employees to refrain from collectively organizing. However, there is currently a carve-out in the statute for general counseling and advice. The new regulations would limit this exception to oral and written recommendations, while other forms of "advice" would be subject to the disclosure requirements.
“The Obama administration is engaged in a campaign to silence employers on union matters,” [committee members] said in a joint statement after sending the letter. “A part of that effort is the Labor Department’s attempt to rewrite the long-standing advice exemption.
The letter concludes with the committee asking the DOL to abandon the rule and stay with the status quo. We will certainly keep you posted on any developments.
Las-Vegas Teacher Files ULPs Against Union Director: Trevon Milliard of the Las Vegas Review- Journal reports that, in a case of "man bites dog," a Las Vegas teachers' union executive director is facing a National Labor Relations Board hearing after being accused of terminating a teacher from employment because she wanted to join a union. The teacher was fired at the end of her six-month probationary period, ostensibly for performance issues. However, during her term of employment, she repeatedly attempted to recruit a group of teachers to join the current teachers' union. The teacher is seeking backpay, reinstatement, and a promise from the executive director that she will be allowed to continue her organizing activities without any further interference. We will keep you posted as this case moves towards a hearing.
NY Car Wash Workers Strike in Protest Over Firing: Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times writes that this past Saturday, workers at Jomar Car Wash in Queens, NY walked off the job in protest after one of their fellow union members was fired after a confrontation with his employer. The employees had recently unionized and believe that the employee was fired merely for being one of the new union's principle organizers. New York's attorney general's office is currently looking into whether any state labor laws were broken. We will keep you posted as the investigation moves forward.
Cal High Court Orders LA to Turn Over Info to SEIU: Beth Winegarner of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, the California State Supreme Court ruled that a public-sector union's duty of fair representation trumps an individual employee's right to privacy regarding their contact information. The court found that case law concerning labor relations favors disclosure of information in most instances, unless there is a compelling reason that the information requested should remain private. As such, Los Angeles city officials must now turn over the names and contact information of its employees to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
“Because the union’s duty extends to all employees in the bargaining unit, regardless of union membership, the union must have the means of communicating with all employees on these important topics,” Justice Carol Corrigan wrote in the unanimous ruling. “In addition, a union must give nonmembers an opportunity to express their views on bargaining matters, even if these employees do not have a vote.”
In a statement, the union praised the decision as consistent with its duty to represent all employees, even those employees not currently a part of the union. A city official did not respond to a request for comment.
Board Finds Healthbridge in Contempt: Kristen Stoller of the New Haven Register writes that the National Labor Relations Board has found Healthbridge Management, LLC to be in contempt of court. Healthbridge had sought relief in bankruptcy court this past March. In that proceeding, a bankruptcy judge found that Healthbridge could temporarily impose unilateral changes to its employees' terms and conditions of employment. Unfortunately for Healthbridge, that ruling was in contravention of an injunction filed in late December that was designed to maintain the status quo while Healthbridge negotiated a newly collective-bargaining agreement with its employees.
The Board is seeking a $10,000 compliance penalty, as well as a daily fine of $500 for each day of noncompliance with the injunction. We will certainly keep you posted as this matter develops.
Chicago Newspaper Lays Off Photogs; Union Expected to File ULPs: USA Today reports that the Chicago Sun Times has laid off its entire photography staff. As a result of the mass layoffs, the Chicago Newspaper Guild, the union representing photographers at the Sun Times, plans to file unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The substance of the charges is currently unclear; all we know right now is that the parties have been in contract negotiations for months with little success. We will certainly keep you posted as this story moves forward.
NY Appeals Court Pushes Back on Bloomberg's Union Pay Cut Plans: Pete Brush of Law360 ($$) writes that on Tuesday, New York City's First Department held that an executive order issued by Mayor Michael Bloomberg cutting union pay and benefits for city workers was illegal. The workers had protested that the cuts, made last year, were effectuated without providing notice or gaining consent from the union.
The city issued the rules "without complying with the procedures mandated by Civil Service Law § 20, i.e., notice, a public hearing, and approval by the State Civil Service Commission, which are applicable to those rules," the appellate panel said.
The order had never actually even gone into effect because the union won a restraining order against the cuts soon after Mayor Bloomberg announced them. As of now, it is unclear whether the City will appeal the 1st Department's ruling. We will certainly keep you posted.
Fast-Food Walkouts Hit Seattle: Josh Eidelson of The Nation writes that the fast food industry in Seattle is experience what New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, and other major U.S. cities have also dealt with in the last couple of months: a concerted, city-wide walkout. Workers at fast food restaurants across the city walked off the job yesterday morning in order to raise awareness of what they believe to be substandard employee wages.
The employees are demanding a pay raise to $15 per hour and are further expressing their desire to unionize without employer interference. This is certainly not the end of the "Fight for 15," as the protests have colloquially been labeled. We will certainly keep you posted.
Congress Hotel Strike Ends: WGNTV.com reports that late last night management officials at the Congress Hotel in Chicago, IL received word that its striking employees had agreed to come back to work. The strikers had been off the job since 2002, making the Congress Hotel strike the longest in American history. As of now, the returning employees will work under the conditions set out in their last contract, which expired in 2002. This is a breaking story, so there will likely be further developments. We will make sure to keep you informed.
GOP Senators File Amicus Brief Supporting Noel Canning Ruling: Ben James of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, a group of Republican Senators filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which the Senators urged the Court to uphold the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling invalidating President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. Forty-five Senators, led by Mitch McConnell (R-KY), filed the brief with the hope that the Court would uphold the lower court's ruling finding the President's appointments unconstitutional.
“The president's decision to circumvent the American people by installing his appointees at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was continuing to hold sessions, and without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate, is an unprecedented power grab,” McConnell said. “We will demonstrate to the court how the president's unconstitutional actions fundamentally endanger the Congress' role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch.”
The lower court's January ruling has cast a great deal of uncertainty over the continued legitimacy of the Board, with fights to curtail its power occurring not only in the courts, but also throughout the halls of Congress. We will keep you posted as this case moves towards oral argument.
NY Car Washers Agree to New Contract: Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post reports that car washers represented by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union have recently concluded contract negotiations with their employer. The workers, in a vote, overwhelmingly approved the contract terms. The car washers, employed by Hi-Tek Car Wash in New York City, became the first group of car washers to unionize when they voted last fall in favor of collective representation. The unionization of lower-paying workers has become a recent trend, with fast-food employees also trying to get in on the action. We will keep you updated, as more and more employees in lower-skilled trades will most likely seek to unionize.
Teamsters Looking to Oust Union from American Airlines: Karen Jacobs at Reuters writes that the Teamsters union is attempting to oust the Transport Workers Union of America from representing ground workers employed by American Airlines. The Teamsters have filed for an election with the National Mediation Board, who will then investigate whether 50% of represented employees support the Teamsters. If so, the NMB will order an election to take place. We will certainly keep you posted as this story moves forward.
Solomon Renominated as NLRB GC: Ben James of Law360 ($$) reports that, last Thursday, President Obama officially renominated National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon to serve another term as the Board's General Counsel. The nomination is now in the hands of the Senate's HELP committee. If approved by the HELP committee, Solomon's nomination will go to the full Senate for a vote. We will certainly keep you posted.
Unite Here, Centerplate to Resume SF Ballpark Negotiations: Paul Gackle of the San Francisco Examiner writes that Unite Here, the union representing employees at San Francisco's AT&T Park, and Centerplate are prepared to resume contract talks that abruptly ceased when the union participated in a one-day strike about two weeks ago. About 750 employees participated in the strike, which resulted in the use of management officials and replacement workers to fill open positions. The San Francisco Giants, who play at AT&T Park, have remained silent on the issue thus far. We will keep you posted as talks move forward.
Horseshoe, Unite Here look to Strike Labor Agreement: Gary Haber of the Baltimore Business Journal writes that the Horseshoe Casino and Unite Here are on the verge of concluding lengthy negotiations surrounding a collective bargaining agreement for the Casino's employees. The union is currently representing about 100 employees in collective bargaining, with a final agreement expected to be reached in the coming weeks. We will keep you updated as negotiations wrap up.
Noel Canning Brief Urges SCOTUS to Uphold D.C. Circuit Ruling: Ben James of Law360($$) writes that Noel Canning, the soda-bottler at the center of the NLRB recess-appointment controversy, has filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court urging the Court to affirm the D.C. Circuit's January ruling invalidating the President's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. Interestingly, Noel Canning chose not to oppose the writ of certiorari because of the importance of the questions involved in the matter.
Noel Canning, in its brief, argues that the D.C. Circuit's interpretation of the recess-appointment clause is the correct interpretation, noting that no President had ever made an intra-session appointment until about 40 years ago.
“That is likely because this modern practice contravenes the plain text of the clause and conflicts with the long history that predates this practice's conception,” Noel Canning contended. “The D.C. Circuit was thus entirely correct to hold that the president's recess appointment power is limited to 'the recess' that occurs between each Senate session.”
A Board spokesman declined comment for the story. We have been following the recess-appointment controversy from the beginning and will be covering the story every step up the way. Stay tuned.
Hollywood Casino Toledo Workers Vote to Join UAW: Tyrell Linkhorn of the Toledo Blade reports that employees at the Hollywood Casino Toledo in Toledo, Ohio have voted to be represented by the United Auto Workers for the purpose of collective bargaining. The more than 800 newly-represented employees will now look to the UAW to begin negotiations with management over a new collective-bargaining agreement between the parties. While a vote tally was not immediately available, a source with knowledge of the certification said that support was overwhelmingly in favor of unionization.
Springboro Teachers Ready to Strike: Lawrence Budd of WHIOTV.com writes that the Springboro Education Association, representing teachers in Springboro, Ohio, have vowed to authorize a strike if contract negotiations between the SEA and the Springboro school board do not bear fruit soon. In its down display of muscle-flexing, the school board promised to begin searching for replacement teachers immediately in order to cover the absences of striking teachers.
The parties have been fighting for months about proposed cuts by the school board, including to teacher pensions, salaries, and insurance coverage. We will keep you posted as this story develops further.
Dems Push Board Nominees Through HELP Committee: Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee voted to send President Obama's nominations to the National Labor Relations Board to the full Senate for a vote. Interestingly, the vote was incredibly partisan, as Republican nominees Harry Johnson III and Philip Miscimarra sailed through the process, while Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin each received nine "no" votes from Republicans on the Committee.
The Board has been in hot water since January's famous Noel Canning ruling out of the D.C. Circuit found President Obama's recess appointments to be invalid. Senate Democrats, commenting on the committee meetings, noted that the law is still uncertain and the Board should continue to function until the Supreme Court decides the issue.
“We can all have our opinions about this, but there’s a conflict and there’s going to be a decision. What we’re missing in this debate so far is whether this board is going to function,” said Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., D-Pa. “Unless you believe the board should be shut down, we should all be working toward making sure there is a functioning board.”
UMass Nurses Set to Strike: Priyanka Dayal McCluskey of the Telegram writes that UMass Memorial Medical Center management and representatives for the more than 1,000 nurses at UMass worked through the night last night in an effort to avoid a planned strike by the nurses, set to begin at 6:00AM this morning. The major disagreement between the two sides continues to involve staffing levels.
UMass has taken steps to respond to the potential strike, hiring temporary replacements and rescheduling elective surgeries and other voluntary procedures. We will keep you posted as the negotiations near a conclusion.
Labor Officials Allege ULPs by Maine Manufacturer: Matt Hongoltz-Hetling of the Morning Sentinel reports that labor leaders have accused ALCOM, a Maine-based manufacturer, of illegally firing five workers who began discussions about organizing a union. A spokesman for the AFL-CIO railed against the firings, saying they were clearly in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
"This is a clear example of an employer firing people for union activity and trying to create a climate of fear in the workplace when workers are trying to organize," [the official] said.
ALCOM, through a spokesman, issued a strong denial, stating that the company supports the right of workers to choose. We will keep you posted as the matter moves through the investigative process.
Ralphs Pushes Picketing Case Towards Supreme Court Review: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that this past Monday, Ralphs Grocery Store filed a brief with the Supreme Court, urging it to take Ralphs' case and overturn a California ruling allowing union picketing at the store's Sacramento branch. The brief argues that the California court's decision violates the constitution's prohibition on content discrimination in speech because the grocery store could have barred union-members from speaking on any other subject on its property other than organizing.
“What is 'radical' is the California Supreme Court’s decision,” the brief said. “If not reviewed, store owners will be forced to host labor-related expression on their private property, even though they can exclude all other expressive activity.”
A union attorney was not available for comment, but had previously expressed his belief that the Court would not accept the case for review. We will certainly keep you posted as this situation develops.
Nurses at UMass Prepared to Strike: WBUR reports that UMass Memorial nurses are expected to strike because contract negotiations between the nurses and hospital management have stalled.
“We are disappointed by management’s refusal to negotiate a settlement to this contract, yet we are committed to standing up for patients and our union rights,” said Margaret McLaughlin, a nurse and co-chairwoman of the University Campus bargaining unit.
Hospital management expressed its disappointment at the nurses' course of action, but also assured the public that temporary workers were standing by in case the nurses follow through on their threats. Apparently, the main sticking points between the two sides continue to be staffing levels, as well as vacation time and pension issues.
Caterpillar and USW Head Back to the Bargaining Table: Fox6Now.com reports that tomorrow, officials representing Caterpillar and the United Steel Workers are expected to sit back down at the bargaining table in a continuing effort to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. In a vote last month, USW employees overwhelmingly rejected Caterpillar's latest offer, which had included wage increases and a new bonus structure. We will certainly keep you posted as negotiations resume.
Board Seeks Injunction to Force Hospital Back to Bargaining Table: R.J. Ignelzi of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the National Labor Relations Board will be heading to federal court to seek an injunction that would force Fallbrook Hospital back to the bargaining table. Fallbrook has been negotiating with its nurses off and on since the nurses voted to be represented by the California Nurses Association last year.
In a 24-page decision outlining Fallbrook's failings, an Administrative Law Judge found that Fallbrook had engaged in a pattern of "intransigence" with regards to CBA negotiations. Moreover, the ALJ also held that Fallbrook had illegally fired several nurses without first negotiating with the union. We will keep you posted as this injunction action moves through the legal process.
AFSCME Patient-Care Workers Set to Strike: ABC10News reports that as of this morning thousands of patient care technical workers at University of California hospitals are set to walk off the job in a concerted push for a new contract. The employees, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), plan to return to work on Thursday after two days of protests.
The hospital, in a short statement, expressed regret that the employees would be going on strike, particularly due to the effect it would have on patient care. We will keep you updated with any further developments.
Childcare Union Bill Set for Governor Dayton's Signature: Megan Boldt of the Pioneer Press reports that, after two days of tense and emotional debate, a bill that would allow Minnesota childcare providers and personal care attendants to unionize passed the House and is headed to the Governor's desk for a signature. The bill passed the House by a 68-66 vote and had earlier passed in the Senate by a 35-32 margin.
The bill received strong opposition from Republicans in both the House and Senate, while Democrats overwhelmingly supported the legislation. Once Governor Dayton signs the bill, which is expected before the end of the week, expect both the SEIU and AFSCME to descend upon the State in order to begin organizing efforts. We will certainly keep you posted.
7th Circuit Hears Argument that IN's Right-to-Work Law Constitutional: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that last Friday, Indiana's Attorney General told the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that Indiana's right-to-work law is constitutionally sound and is not preempted by federal law. Indiana's right-to-work law, passed in February of 2012, prohibits a union from requiring members to pay dues or join the union as a condition of employment.
“Indiana’s right-to-work statute fits squarely within the permitted parameters of the federal labor law allowing state regulation of forced union membership and union security agreements, and therefore, the district court correctly dismissed the preemption claims in this case,” the brief said.
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) had filed suit around the time the law was passed in an attempt to invalidate the newly-passed legislation. A ruling is expected in the next couple of months. We will certainly keep you posted.
New Jersey AFL-CIO Chapter Launches Super PAC: Jenna Portnoy of the New Jersey Star Ledger reports that the New Jersey chapter of the AFL-CIO has filed the necessary paperwork in order to form a Super PAC. The Super PAC, to be known as NJ Workers' Voices, is expected to lean left and focus on current employee-side labor issues.
The group will provide "grassroots communications support for candidates and issues that we feel are in line with the interests of the state's workers," [a spokeswoman for the group] said.
The first major testing point for the newly-formed Super PAC will be the coming 2014 midterm elections. While NJ Workers' Voices has not yet begun to endorse candidates, expect the Super PAC to begin backing New Jersey Democrats in the near future.
Chicago Teachers' Union re-elects Union Chief: Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post writes that the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU) has re-elected Union Chief Karen Lewis to another three-year term of office. Lewis won over 80% of the vote and soundly beat back a challenge from her previous competitor. Interestingly, Lewis will have little time to celebrate her victory, as CTU will kick of three days of protests this morning over public school closures in the city.
Board Chair: We Have a Duty to Keep Working: Ben James of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) held a hearing concerning pending nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) stated that an executive committee meeting would be held on May 22 in order to determine whether the nominees should be sent to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Chair Mark Gaston Pearce lamented that, in the interim, the Board owes the public a duty to keep working.
"Historically, the NLRB has functioned in the wake of constitutional challenges," he said. "We were born of controversy. In 1935 through 1937, our legitimacy was challenged in the courts. We continued to function, and when the Supreme Court finally decided the issue, we still had managed to serve the public. But most importantly, we owe it to the public to continue to work."
The Board's legitimacy is under attack from several angles, with some Senators and House Members attempting to introduce legislation to shut the Board down until a full quorum has been validly appointed. Further, the 3rd Circuit ruled yesterday that President Obama's recess appointments were constitutionally-invalid, joining the D.C. Circuit in finding that the Board did not have a quorum to act for quite some time. We will keep you posted as the nomination process moves towards a confirmation vote.
Right to Work Foundation Lobs ULP Allegations: Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star writes that the National Right to Work Foundation has filed unfair labor practice charges against Domtar Paper Co., alleging that the company has violated Indiana's "right to work" law by forcing employees to pay union dues. Under the law, nonunion members cannot be forced to pay union dues. However, the Right to Work Foundation believes that that is exactly what is happening at Domtar.
“Teamster union officials are extracting full union dues from workers who want to exercise their rights under Indiana’s popular new right to work law,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation, in a prepared statement. “This illegal action must stop.”
Domtar could not immediately be reached for comment. Indiana's law is relatively new and only affects contracts signed after March 14, 2012. We will keep you posted on these pending charges.
Board Certifies Georgetown Adjuncts Union: Penny Hung of the Georgetown Hoya reports that this past Monday, the National Labor Relations Board certified the Service Employees International Union as the official representative of adjunct faculty at Georgetown University. The faculty voted May 3 on whether or not to be represented by the SEIU, with a large majority voting in favor of unionization. The SEIU will now meet with university officials in order to negotiate a new contract for the newly-unionized adjuncts.
Charges Over Facebook Discipline Set to Continue, RDs Say: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, a panel of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Directors and private-sector management-side attorneys discussed current hot topics in labor relations at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Manhattan. In particular, the panel discussed the recent spike in Board charges dealing with issues over Facebook and other forms of social media. The Board's Regional Directors stressed that its recent interest in social-media cases was nothing new, even if a lot of the cases are cropping up in non-union environs.
“We've had jurisdiction since way back when over nonunion workforces,” [a Board Regional Director] said, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1962 decision in NLRB v. Washington Aluminum Co., which affirmed the labor board's ruling that firing nonunion workers who walked out of a machine shop because it was too cold violated the NLRA.
The panel further discussed the D.C. Circuit's recent Noel Canning ruling, which has thrown the Board's authority to act into doubt. Since the D.C. Circuit held that the Board had been improperly constituted back in January, 368 contested decisions have been issued. Clearly, we will keep you posted as to both the social media issue and the Noel Canning fallout.
HELP Committee Set to Consider Board Nominees: Sam Hananel of Yahoo!News reports that President Obama's nominees to the National Labor Relations Board will appear before a Senate committee confirmation hearing today. If no new nominees are confirmed, the Board will fall below a quorum to act in August, when current Chairman Mark Pearce's appointment expires.
Following today's hearing, the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) is expected to vote on the nominees next week. The fight is expected to be quite partisan, as Republicans have been railing against what they believe to be an out-of-control Board. We will certainly keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
Nurses at San Jose Hospitals Set to Strike: Sandy Kleffman of the Mercury News reports that several hundred nurses at two San Jose, California hospitals are set to strike at the end of this month. The strike comes in the midst of lengthy contract negotiations between the nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association, and the Hospital Corporation of America. The main sticking points between the parties involve wages, benefits, staffing levels, and pensions. We will keep you posted as the strike deadlines moves closer.
Fight for $15 Comes to Milwaukee: Josh Eidelson of The Nation reports that, as of 6:00am central time this morning, hundreds of fast food restaurant employees in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are expected to walk off the job. The employees are holding the one-day strike in order to protest substandard wages. The movement, known as the Fight for $15, is exactly what it sounds like: the strikers are attempting to raise their wages to at least $15 an hour, which they consider to be a living wage.
“We know that if we were to raise the wages of those workers, it would mean not only economic security for their families, but economic security for a city that’s been devastated by de-industrialization, devastated by a jobless rate for African-American men of over 55%," commented an affiliate of the campaign.
Fast-food management officials were generally unavailable for comment. However, a McDonalds official stressed that the restaurant provides competitive wages and "training and professional development" opportunities. As this is the 5th major city to be hit by the Fight for $15 in the past six weeks, do not expect this movement to go away anytime soon. We will certainly keep you posted.
Cleveland School Board Gives Okay to Deal with Teachers' Union: Newsnet5.com reports that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education met last night to preliminarily agree to a deal with the Cleveland Teachers' Union over a new contract between the parties. Union members are expected to vote on the proposed agreement before the end of the month.
"This ground-breaking agreement paves the way for shared ownership in building a high-quality education system,” said union president David Quolke in a news release. “The new agreement also rewards and recognizes the hard work teachers do by aligning teacher compensation with components and practices needed to improve teaching and learning.”
Details of the tentative deal were not released Tuesday. The parties had been engaged in contract talks for months and recently sought the assistance of a fact-finder. We will keep you posted as to whether the full union ratifies the new deal.
Bobcats Exec Touted as Next Head of NBAPA: Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal writes that Charlotte Bobcats President Fred Whitfield's name is being bandied about as the next head of the NBA Players' Association (NBAPA).
“A couple of people have mentioned to me I potentially might be a good candidate for this role, but no one has mentioned it to me in an official way,” he told SportsBusiness Journal.
The former head of the NBAPA, Billy Hunter, was fired by the players in February after a scandal involving allegations of nepotism bubbled up. A Bobcats official could not be reached for comment.
Walmart Brings Suit Against Two Unions for 'Disorderly Conduct': The Huffington Post reports that Walmart has filed suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and OUR Walmart, alleging that both unions engaged in disorderly conduct by trespassing, confronting store managers, and blocking customer traffic, as well as several other claims.
Interestingly, Walmart workers are not organized for the purpose of collective bargaining or representation. However, OUR Walmart, with the help of the UFCW, has been attempting to organize Walmart's staff for the last several months. We will keep you posted as this story, and this lawsuit, move forward.
Chicago Teachers' Union to Protest School Closures: Tonya Francisco of WGNTV.com writes that the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU) will stage three days' of protests in order to try to stop the closure of 54 "failing schools." The protests are set to begin Saturday. CTU is also expected to lobby state lawmakers to put the school closures on hold for the time-being. CTU has expressed that its main concern is the safety of the school children, some of whom would be forced to walk through gang-territory to get to their new school should the city go ahead with the closures. We will certainly keep you posted as this story develops further.
Vermont Reaches Agreement with State Troopers' Union Over New Contract: The Rutland Herald reports that the union representing Vermont State Troopers has reached an agreement with officials representing the state of Vermont over a new contract between the parties. While there will not be an across-the-board pay increase, unionized troopers will receive salary increases. The contract must still be ratified by the troopers, but ratification is considered a formality at this point. The current contract between the parties is set to expire June 30 of this year.
Dr. Pepper Workers Wait for Vote Results: Jim Winburn of the Victorville Daily Press reports that workers employed by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in Southern California voted last Friday on whether to be represented by a union for the purposes of collective-bargaining. The workers, employed at the Southern California Logistics Airport outside of Los Angeles, could vote to be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, or to remain unrepresented. Official results might not be released by the National Labor Relations Board until the end of the week. We will certainly keep you posted.
Union Election at Precision Castparts to Go Forward Next Month: The Seattle Times reports that next month, more than 2,000 employees at Precision Castparts in Oregon will vote on whether to be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for the purpose of collective-bargaining and representation. The election only involves production and maintenance staff, but does not include clerical workers or other professionals. We will keep you posted as to the results of next month's election.
Miami Cafeteria Workers Join SEIU: Margaux Herrera of the Miami Herald reports that cafeteria workers at the University of Miami have voted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for the purpose of collective bargaining. The unit, set to include about 320 members, voted to join branch 32BJ of the union. The SEIU will now bargain with Chartwells, the outside provider employed by UM to do food-service work. We will keep you posted as negotiations between the parties get rolling.
6th Circuit Blesses Michigan's Public Act 53: Sindhu Sundar of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court's granting of a temporary injunction, holding that Public Act 53, a bill out of Michigan that would bar unions from automatically deducting union dues from teachers' paychecks, is not violative of the First Amendment. The court reasoned that unions cannot depend on automatic payroll deductions to finance their brand of speech.
“So Public Act 53 does not restrict speech; it does not discriminate against or even mention viewpoint; and it has nothing to do with a forum of any kind,” the opinion said. “Instead, the Act merely directs one kind of public employer to use its resources for its core mission rather than for the collection of union dues. That is not a First Amendment concern.”
Judge Jane Stranch dissented, writing that the Michigan legislature clearly enacted Public Act 53 in order to check the growing power of labor unions. The matter will now be remanded to the lower court for a trial on the merits. We will certainly keep you posted as the case moves towards a resolution.
"Fight for $15" Hits Detroit Fast-Food Restaurants: Josh Eidelson at The Nation writes that this morning, fast-food workers at more than 60 restaurants in Detroit, MI are expected to walk off the job in protest of substandard wages and working conditions. The action, known colloquially as the "Fight for $15," is a grassroots movement organized primarily by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its stated goal is to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. A CUNY labor professor, commenting on the matter, believes that the protest actions will only serve to spur more protests, which could lead to an industry-wide increase in wages.
“After what I would consider well over three decades of wage suppression, workers in this particular industry - and then I think it’ll go to others - are realizing that their only way up the wage ladder is through their own organizations,” CUNY labor studies lecturer Ed Ott said Wednesday.
So far this morning, a Detroit McDonalds was forced to shut down when over 20 of its workers walked out and joined the "Fight for $15." Interestingly, McDonalds had attempted to bring in strikebreakers, but those strikebreakers also ended up walking out in protest and joining the strikers. This is certainly not the last we've heard from the "Fight for $15" campaign. We will be following it and will keep you posted as it crops back up.
San Francisco Ballpark Concession Workers Call for Strike Authorization Vote: The San Francisco Gate reports that concession workers at AT&T Park in San Francisco, represented by Unite Here!, have called for a strike authorization vote. The vote, set to occur Saturday, was called after workers became increasingly unhappy over the lack of progress in negotiating a new collective-bargaining agreement with management officials. The more than 750 employees classified as concession workers have been without a contract for the past three years.
UMW Student Protests Shut Down Palermo's Pizza: Milwaukee Business News reports that student sit-ins and protests concerning a Palermo's Pizza stand on campus at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin (UMW) have led to the stand's closure. This past Tuesday, about 40-50 students gathered outside the stand, yelling, "No justice, no pizza," in support of Palermo's workers, who the students believe have been treated unfairly by the pizza company. The students dispersed when a UMW official announced that the stand would be shut down.
Palermo's has been in the news a good deal recently, with the National Labor Relations Board clearing the company of all major charges on April 29 after a union representing workers at Palermo's had filed unfair labor practice charges against the company.
Board Settles ULP Charges With Trojan Labor: Bobby Allyn of the Tennessean writes that this past Monday, the National Labor Relations Board finalized a settlement with Trojan Labor. Trojan had been in hot water for the past few months after an employee filed unfair labor practice charges with the Board, alleging that Trojan had engaged in illegal surveillance by sending management officials to union organizing meetings.
The settlement document does not identify any individuals, nor does it state whether any illegal activity actually took place. Trojan will most likely remain in the news for the foreseeable future, particularly because its employees are also in the process of filing a federal suit for unpaid regular and overtime wages. We will certainly keep you posted.
Columbia Adjunct Professors on Verge of Striking: Kari Lydersen of In These Times reports that adjunct faculty at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois are teetering on the edge of striking. While an authorization vote has yet to take place, informal polling among union members shows that between 80-90% of adjunct faculty would support such a strike. The adjuncts are hoping to avoid a strike, but are looking for a greater share of wages and benefits. The union president has taken the view that, if a strike is what gets the administration's attention, then the strike will have to go forward. We will keep you posted as to whether the adjuncts actually vote to authorize the strike.
Board Finds CalTech Scientists' Emails Protected Activity: Dan Prochilo of Law360 ($$) writes that Monday, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge issued a decision holding that emails sent out by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) ripping the University for creating a background check policy were protected communications under the National Labor Relations Act. The ALJ further held that CalTech's issuance of warning letters to the scientists was thus violative of the Act and that those warning letters would have to be removed from the scientists' permanent records.
CalTech had attempted to argue that the scientists' emails violated the university's anti-spam policy and further violated its policy against using university computers for political speech. However, the judge quickly dismissed that argument, holding that CalTech could not simply label the scientists' emails as political speech in order to escape the strictures of the Act.
Further, the judge opined that CalTech had allowed various other spam messages or email blasts to cross its system without reprimanding the sender, so it should not have punished the scientists for doing the same thing. If this case is appealed to the full Board, we will be following it to its conclusion. We will certainly keep you posted.
Adjunct Profs at Georgetown Join SEIU: Julia Tanaka of the Georgetown Voice reports that last weekend, adjunct professors at Georgetown University voted in favor of being represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for the purpose of collective bargaining. The election, conducted by agents of the National Labor Relations Board, saw a little less than half of the professors vote, with 72% of those voters casting their ballot in favor of unionization. The director of the SEIU praised both the professors and Georgetown administration for waging a respectful campaign.
“This was a respectful process between the union and Georgetown University,” he said. “The administration made a point of putting their social teaching into practice … I hope that other institutions will look at how Georgetown put its just employment policy into practice and that they will view this as a model for how universities should handle organizing campaigns.”
The Georgetown adjuncts are following in the footsteps of American University and George Washington University adjuncts, who have both voted to be represented by the SEIU in the past year. We will keep you posted as to whether any party objects to the election's results.
UC Hospital Workers Give Union OK To Strike: CBS San Francisco reports that hospital workers at University of California hospitals have voted in favor of authorizing a strike in the midst of faltering contract negotiations. The hospital workers, represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) overwhelmingly approved the strike authorization, with 97% of voters casting pro-strike ballots. The hospital workers have been working without a contract since October of last year.
A UC official addressed the strike vote, stating that AFSCME was attempting to deflect attention away from the fact that the workers are vehemently opposed to pension reforms that other unions have already approved. We will certainly be watching this story and will keep you posted as to any developments.
Board Orders USPS to Turn Over Test Scores to Union: Dan Prochilo of Law360 ($$) writes that last Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board ordered the United States Postal Service to turn over the results of an aptitude test to union officials who were investigating potential improper hiring practices. The Board held that the union's stated goal of acting as hiring watchdog should be given priority over an employee's right to privacy.
"We find that the balance of interests favors requiring a limited disclosure to the union," the NLRB wrote, saying the union's need to see the scores in order to determine whether the USPS had broken its collective bargaining agreement with workers outweighed any damage that could be inflicted on the test takers through the publication of their scores.
The Board reasoned that the union had no plausible way of investigating the Postal Service's hiring practices without the test scores. Furthermore, the Board provided that the release of the test scores would not have a detrimental effect on the individual employees because they had all performed "exceptionally well." Neither party responded to requests for comment.
Proposed MN Law to Create Unions for Personal Attendants Stalls in Committee: Kare11.com writes that a proposed bill that would allow personal care attendants and home day-care owners to form unions has hit an impasse in the Minnesota State Senate. The proposed legislation, a major priority for local union leaders, would have led to votes by employees as to whether to organize. Members of the Senate Finance Committee stated that they expected the bill to come up again with some revised language. We will certainly keep you posted as the bill moves through the legislative process.
Columbia Grain Locks Out ILWU Workers: The Portland Business Journal reports Columbia Grain, a major grain operator working in the Portland area, has locked out International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) members as of this past weekend. Columbia alleges that the ILWU workers have engaged in a slowdown at the Port of Portland Grain Elevator because the employees have been working without a contract since September 30 of last year. We will keep you posted on any developments.
Board Reinstates Worker Fired Over Facebook Postings: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affirmed an Administrative Law Judge's decision to reinstate a New York City Tour Guide who was fired by his employer for posting about the company on Facebook. The employee, surprisingly, did not actually direct any of his Facebook postings to his fellow co-workers. Instead, the Board found that merely writing about his union organizing activity was enough to bring his postings under the protections of the National Labor Relations Act.
"In particular, we affirm the judge's finding that those communications constituted union activity, even if directed to tour guides of other New York City companies," the NLRB's decision said. "The Feb. 11 communications were an obvious continuation of Pflantzer's prior organizational activity, activity which was known to [New York Party Shuttle]."
The company had attempted to argue that the employee's postings could not be protected because they were libelous. However, the Board found that the employee's posts about checks bouncing were largely true. As such, his missives remained protected, even though they were not explicitly directed to his coworkers.
While the Board's view of social media is still evolving, this case represents a good lesson for employers. Firing an employee over a Facebook post could easily land a company in hot water with the current Board, who seem intent on protecting a wide swath of employee communications.
Teachers File ULP Charges After Lackawanna Declares Impasse: Steve McConnell of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that Pennsylvania's largest teachers' union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Lackawanna College. The teachers' union, representing the college's faculty, has been at odds with the University ever since negotiations began over a new contract between the parties. Earlier this year, Lackawanna declared impasse after more than two years of negotiations and imposed its last best offer on the faculty.
The contract imposed upon the faculty guarantees full health care benefits for teachers and their families for the first two years of the new contract. However, employees would have to pay increased premiums in the remaining three years. We will certainly keep you posted as this matter moves forward.
Patriot Coal Employees Threaten to Strike: The JD Journal reports that an attorney for workers at Patriot Coal were prepared to go on strike if Patriot Coal cannot agree on a new contract with the union representing the employees. Patriot Coal, currently in Bankruptcy proceedings, has been attempting to void its contract with the United Mine Workers of America in order to make cost-saving labor cuts. The CEO of Patriot Coal called the attorney's comments "ill conceived."
“It’s a poor time to be throwing out threats,” referring to the comments of the union’s attorney.
Patriot has been attempting to cease pension contributions as well, but has proposed to give the union a 35% equity stake in the company. We will keep you posted as bankruptcy proceedings move forward.
Board ALJ Slams Western Refining for ULPs: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled that Western Refining Inc. had violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act) by maintaining a "widespread and flagrant" anti-union campaign. The ALJ found that Western began violating the Act as soon as management officials got word of its employees' intent to begin organizing.
“Here, as soon as respondent learned that its employees were once again embarking upon union organizing efforts, it commenced a widespread and flagrant campaign designed to derail those efforts. Respondent interrogated its employees at numerous terminals in New Mexico and Texas about their union activities, threatened numerous employees with discipline if they talked about the union with fellow employees at work, while at the same time it permitted hired labor consultants and anti-union employees to solicit petitions against the union,” the decision said.
The ALJ also ruled that, since the violations were numerous and serious, a company official would have to read the notice accompanying the decision aloud to Western's employees. Neither party commented for the story.
ILWU, United Grain Square Off at Port of Vancouver: Aaron Corvin of the Columbian reports the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has begun lobbing unfair labor practice charges against United Grain. The dockworkers, represented by the ILWU and employed at the Port of Vancouver in Washington State, allege that several union members were illegally fired for refusing to operate a piece of equipment they believed to be unsafe.
The two sides have been engaged in a heated battle since United Grain locked out 44 ILWU workers in the middle of contract negotiations. With United Grain now employing replacement workers, tensions are not expected to lessen anytime soon. We will keep you posted with regards to the ULP charges and the continuing contract negotiations.
SEIU Victorious at Kaiser: Chad Terhune of the Los Angeles Times reports that last night, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers West won an election to become the exclusive bargaining representative for Kaiser Permanente employees in California. Interestingly, the SEIU had to fend off a serious challenge from the National Union of Healthcare Workers in order to be chosen as the Kaiser employees' representative. SEIU now represents approximately 45,000 employees at Kaiser, which an SEIU official characterized as the largest private-sector election since a Ford Motor Co. election in 1941.
Board Orders Re-Vote in Target Union Election: Ben James of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board upheld an Administrative Law Judge's decision finding that a union election at a Target Store in Long Island, New York should be re-held. Target employees had voted in June of 2011 as to whether to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) for the purpose of collective-bargaining. The UFCW lost that election, but the ALJ held that the maintenance of unlawful rules in Target's employee handbook compelled a re-vote. While the Board agreed with the ALJ's conclusion, its decision further held that a re-vote was necessary due to a myriad of unfair labor practices that occurred during the organizing campaign.
“However, we additionally rely on the other ... violations the respondent committed during the critical period — including a coercive interrogation, a threat of unspecified reprisals and the distribution to employees of a leaflet that unlawfully implied a threat to close the store if employees selected the union — in reaching our conclusion that the election must be set aside and a second election directed,” the NLRB said.
Interestingly, the Board struck down a portion of the ALJ's decision that found that Target's parking lot policy was unlawful. The parking lot policy provided that employees should report unknown parking lot loiterers to their supervisors. The Board held that there was no evidence that the policy did not explicitly restrict protected activity, nor was it promulgated in response to union activity.
Pomona Dining Staff Join Unite Here!: Beau Yarbrough of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin writes that dining hall workers at Pomona College in Pomona, CA have voted to be represented by Unite Here! for the purpose of collective-bargaining. The workers voted 57 to 26 in favor of representation, with the vote being overseen by representatives of the National Labor Relations Board.
"I'm happy for our employees that this period of uncertainty is now over, and I'm proud of our community for upholding the principles this institution stands for throughout this difficult, sometimes divisive process," Pomona College President David W. Oxtoby wrote in a letter posted on the school's website.
Earlier this year, Pomona settled charges that employees were restricted from participating in protected and concerted activity. The recent trend regarding unionization of support-staff workers at colleges and universities is expected to continue, so employers should be aware of their rights and obligations with respect to organizing efforts.
MI Bus Drivers Oust IUOE: Lisa Carolin of AnnArbor.com writes that school bus drivers in Dexter, Michigan have voted to no longer be represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) for the purpose of collective bargaining. The bus drivers claim that the reason they ousted the IUOE was because the union was not serving their needs. Interestingly, the bus drivers have now formed their own local union instead.
"We just felt like a majority of the bus drivers were not getting good customer service from the union," said bus driver Michael Dendy, who is about to officially become the secretary and treasurer of the new union.
The IUOE, in a short statement, expressed regret at the parting of ways. In contrast, the bus drivers expressed renewed optimism after forming their own union. A school district official declined comment, saying that the end of the dispute was in all parties' best interests.
PLU Adjunct Faculty Looking to Unionize: Gabriel Spitzer of NPR writes that adjunct professors and faculty at Pacific Lutheran University are seeking to be represented by the Service Employees Industrial Union (SEIU) for the purpose of collective-bargaining. While adjunct faculty teach approximately a third of the courses offered at PLU, they are paid significantly less than their tenure-track colleagues. Not surprisingly, the university is pushing back, arguing that it falls outside of the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board because it is a religiously-affiliated university.
“It’s our responsibility to defend our first amendment rights, and I think it would be irresponsible not to challenge jurisdiction on that point,” [PLU Provost Steve Starkovich] said.
The Board has traditionally asserted its jurisdiction over religiously-affiliated groups, like PLU, that are not explicitly centered around the exercise of religion. However, the final decision rests with the current Board, which is on shaky legal ground as it is. It remains to be seen whether a Constitutionally-suspect NLRB will have the stomach for what could be a protracted battle in Federal court. We will certainly keep you posted.
Board Sides with Unite Here! Against Sheraton: Chris Klint of KTUU.com reports that the National Labor Relations Board has affirmed an Administrative Law Judge's decision holding that the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska committed a host of unfair labor practices in a long-running dispute with Unite Here! and its employees over their ability to form a union. In particular, the Board found that Sheraton made several unilateral changes to employees' terms and conditions of employment. The Board further held that Sheraton improperly disciplined nine employees for showing support for the union. While a Sheraton representative declined comment for the story, a spokesperson for Unite Here! expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, but also noted that the struggle for workers' rights at Sheraton was far from over.
New Hostess Owners Back Away from Anti-Union Comments: Sean Higgins of the Washington Examiner writes that the new owners of Hostess have issued a press release stating that the company would not discriminate against job applicants on the basis of their union membership. The press release comes in response to comments made last week by Hostess' CEO Dean Metropoulos, who stated that the company would be moving forward without a union presence.The company's statement also provided that Hostess respects employees' Section 7 rights and will not interfere with NLRB processes.
D.C. Circuit Overturns Flagstaff ULPs: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that last Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the National Labor Relations Board took an "interpretive leap" in holding that an executive's comments about negotiating with unions violated the National Labor Relations Act. The executive, who is employed by Flagstaff Medical Center in Arizona, stated that if his employees decided to unionize, then he would not be negotiating with them. The Board had ruled that the executive's comments amounted to an implicit threat from management that a union campaign would be futile. However, the D.C. Circuit vehemently disagreed, noting that the comment had been made during a discussion of the benefit of direct communication between employees and management.
“Considering this context, we are baffled by the board’s interpretation of Bradel’s subsequent first-person-singular statement about negotiations as a comment about Flagstaff’s threshold willingness to negotiate — rather than as a statement about his own attendance at whatever meetings occur,” the appeals court ruling said. “The record does not support this interpretive leap.”
The D.C. Circuit further explained in its ruling that employers are allowed to discuss the benefits and detriments of unionizing as long as there is no threat or promise of benefit involved. A Board spokesperson declined to comment for the story.
Board Clears Palermo Immigration Check: Karen Herzog of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that the National Labor Relations Board has found that Palermo Villa, Inc. did not violate labor law by terminating 75 workers during an immigration audit last year. The Board further held that Palermo did not use the audit in order to retaliate against workers for their unionization efforts. Importantly, the Board's decision was the last major hurdle that needed to be cleared before employees could vote on whether to be represented by the Palermo Workers Union. We will keep you updated as to the vote's results.
MLS Referees Unionize: The Boston Herald carried an Associated Press story reporting that Major League Soccer (MLS) referees, linesmen, and fourth officials have voted overwhelmingly in favor of being represented by the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) for the purpose of collective-bargaining. A spokesperson for the PSRA said that the vote was 55-7 in favor of unionization, with 15 referees abstaining. As a result of the vote, the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), the entity in charge of staffing MLS games, will now be compelled to negotiate with the PSRA over match officials' terms and conditions of employment.
Board ALJ Nixes UPMC Social Media Policy: Matt Fair of Law360 ($$) writes that a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) held in a decision issued last week that University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) was maintaining a social media policy that violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. In pertinent part, the policy at issue effectively prevented employees from using social media or company computers to discuss union activity.
“The prohibition ‘on describing any affiliation with UPMC’ is reasonably read to prohibit employees (who, are using Facebook, Twitter, etc., which the employer’s rule permits) from telling anyone where they work, a restriction that severely inhibits discussion with others about the terms and conditions and pluses and minuses of their work experience,” he said. “Such ambiguity and overbreadth is unlawful precisely because it chills Section 7 activity —an employee will reasonably avoid all Section 7 activity precisely out of concern that the employer may apply the rule in a manner that impermissibly singles out Section 7 activity.”
Interestingly, the ALJ did uphold UPMC's policy forbidding union solicitation of employees via company email. The UPMC declined comment for the story.
While the Board has thus far issued few decisions regarding social media policies, it appears that the NLRB has begun to aggressively target company policies that could be read to "chill" employees' Section 7 rights. As such, employers need to tread carefully when crafting employee social media policies. We will keep you updated if this case is appealed to the full Board.
Strongsville Teachers' Strike Nears End: Jen Steer of NewsNet5.com reports that last Friday, the Strongsville Education Association and the Strongsville Board of Education reached a tentative deal that should end the eight-week long teachers' strike in Strongsville, Ohio. Interestingly, both sides have stated that no details will be released until the proposed agreement is ratified. Once the deal is solidified, we here at @LRToday will break down the specifics for you. Stay tuned.
Union, Caterpillar Reach Tentative Agreement: Katie DeLong of Fox6NewsNow.com writes that members of Local 1343 of the United Steelworkers Union have reached a tentative agreement with Caterpillar regarding a new contract. The employees, located in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are expected to vote on ratification this coming Tuesday. No details of the proposed deal have been released, but we will certainly keep you posted as to the vote's results.
SEIU Targeting Colleges and Universities: Malika Sen of the College Times writes that the Service Employees Industrial Union (SEIU) is putting forth efforts to unionize adjunct professors across the country. Their current focus, however, seems to be on the Boston metro area. On April 13, Adjunct Action, an initiative of the SEIU, held a symposium on the benefits of unionizing that was attended by over 100 adjunct faculty from more than 20 schools in the area.
“The next step is forming organizing committees both on the campuses where adjunct faculty are most interested in moving forward and also across the metropolitan area,” [an SEIU spokesperson] said.
Interestingly, the SEIU has succeeded in bringing a unionization effort to a vote at Georgetown University. Ballots were mailed out to adjunct professors on April 12, with the National Labor Relations Board expected to tally the votes on May 3, 2013. We will certainly keep you posted as to the election's result.
Sanipac, Union Reach Agreement on New Contract: Jeff Wright of the Register-Guard reports that a majority of union-represented workers at Sanipac in Oregon have agreed to a new contract with the company, averting a possible strike. The contract lasts for four years and is retroactive to July 1 of last year. Sanipac had been preparing for the worst because Teamsters representatives had been intimating that a strike was being considered.
Both sides expressed relief that the negotiations ended successfully. Workers will receive a $2.00 raise over the life of the contract and will also receive increases in medical and pension benefits. Most importantly, there will not be an interruption in trash-hauling services for residents served by Sanipac.
Strongsville School Board Files ULP Charges Against Teachers: Cory Shaffer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Strongsville, Ohio school board has accused the Strongsville Education Association (SEA), the union representing teachers in the long-running strike, of direct dealing in contravention of the Ohio Labor Code.
In the release school board President David Frazee said the charges go on to ask the State Employment Relations Board to order the SEA to cease and desist "from engaging in unlawful direct dealing and from interfering with the BOE’s selection of bargaining representatives."
A union spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The strike, now in its eighth week, shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Both sides have dug in their heels and have each filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against each other. We will certainly keep you updated as this situation is very fluid.
Board Finds Facebook Posts to be Protected Activity: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) writes that last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board affirmed an Administrative Law Judge's finding that Bettie Page Clothing in San Francisco, CA unlawfully terminated employees for criticizing store management on Facebook. The Board agreed with the ALJ in finding that the posts, related to the store closing earlier so that workers would not have to walk through unsafe neighborhoods, amounted to classic protected and concerted activity by the workers.
“The Facebook postings were complaints among employees about the conduct of their supervisor as it related to their terms and conditions of employment and about management’s refusal to address the employees’ concerns,” the board's decision said. “Such conversations for mutual aid and protection are classic concerted protected activity, even absent prior action.”
The Board, as a remedial measure, ordered Bettie Page Clothing to reinstate the three employees who were fired for their Facebook postings, with all three employees also awarded backpay. In a statement, the company vowed to appeal the Board's ruling.
This case just represents another example of the Board's incredibly protective approach when it comes to social media. It seems that lately, Facebook has become the new "water-cooler." As such, employers must tread very carefully when dealing with any social media issues. Since this case is being appealed, we will be following it all the way through to a final decision.
Twinkie's New Owners Hoping to Avoid Union Labor: Rachel Feintzeig of the Wall Street Journal reports that Hostess Brands LLC-Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC (Hostess) is making preparations to hire new workers and reopen Twinkie plants, but without the help of Union workers.
"We do not expect to be involved in the union going forward," Mr. Metropoulos said in an interview Wednesday.
The former iteration of Hostess, which just went through a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, employed 15,000 union-represented workers once upon a time. However, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Union (BCTWGM) engaged in a devastating strike last year, sending the company into bankruptcy.
When reached for further comment, Mr. Metropoulos expressed confidence that Hostess would be able to find enough workers to fill its plants, particularly because the operations would be opening in areas of high unemployment. We will be watching these developments closely and will keep you updated.
Durham School Bus Drivers Vote to Strike: Chris Valdez of the Poughkeepsie Journal writes school bus employees in Durham, NC have voted to walk off the job and go on strike. The Teamsters Local 445 voted yesterday to renew the union's strike authorization, so the drivers could strike at any time now. The employees, without a contract since September of last year, have argued that they are underpaid and overworked. Management officials have offered raises, but so far, there has not been any significant progress in negotiations. We will keep you posted as this story develops.
7th Circuit Chides Red Cross for Trying to Bust Union: Sindhu Sundar of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the American Red Cross unlawfully changed employees' terms of employment. The changes in conditions were designed to harm the legitimacy of the newly-formed union, with the court further ruling that the Red Cross' changes actually did harm the union.
A three-judge panel partly affirmed a lower court's ruling in favor of a union of blood collection specialists that was elected in 2007 and certified in 2010, after the humanitarian group made a number of changes to the union employees’ employment terms without consulting the union, the order said. These changes included changing employees’ health insurance benefits, suspending their merit pay increases, and halting matching employer contributions to their 401(k) plans, among other things, according to the order.
The Red Cross' changes to employees' terms and conditions of employment led to a massive drop in union engagement, the court further found, with attendance at union meetings dropping almost 90% in a one-year period. Neither side was available to comment on the ruling.
"Fight for $15" Campaign to Hold Protest in Chicago: The Chicago Tribune reports that hundreds of fast food and retail workers throughout the city of Chicago are expected to walk off the job today in support of a campaign calling for higher wages for low-income workers. Known as the "Fight for $15" campaign, organizers stated that workers from McDonalds, Macy's, and Subway were expected to join in the protests.
"Fight for 15, seeks to put money back in the pockets of the 275,000 men and women who work hard in the city’s fast food and retail outlets, but still can’t afford basic necessities," the group said in a release. "If workers were paid more, they’d spend more, helping to get Chicago’s economy moving again."
The Fight for $15 organizers, not surprisingly, are also putting forth concerted efforts towards unionizing the city's retail and fast food workers. Interestingly, Chicago's strike comes mere weeks after a similar strike in New York City. We will certainly keep you posted as this story develops further.
Seattle Negotiations with Police Union Hits Roadblock: Steve Militch and Lynn Thompson of The Seattle Times report that negotiations between the city of Seattle and its police union have stalled because the city no longer wants to pay the salary and benefits of the police union's President. No other union head in Seattle is paid by the city, save for current Seattle Police Officers Guild' (SPOG)President Sergeant Rich O'Neil, who is making $125,000 per year, plus benefits. The city, in a statement, declined to comment on the pay issue.
“We have been diligently working to negotiate a contract with the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild that respects our budget situation and enables full implementation of our Settlement Agreement with the DOJ,” [a city spokesman provided] in a written statement.
The police officers have been working without a contract since 2010. Interestingly, the police officers are barred from striking, so their negotiating leverage is somewhat hindered. We will keep you updated as negotiations progress.
Aztar Workers Keep Security Clause: Susan Orr of the Evansville Courier Press writes that employees at Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana have voted to retain the Union security clause in their collective bargaining agreement with their employer. Deleting the union security clause would have allowed reticent workers to continue to be represented by the union in collective bargaining, but without having to pay union dues.
The election's outcome means that Aztar employees will continue to be represented by the United Auto Workers, whether they like it or not, until the end of the current contract between the parties. The vote is expected to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board by the end of the month.
Garbage Haulers Support Strike Ends: Olivera Perkins of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that garbage haulers working for Republic Services in Northeast Ohio have called off their current support strike, which had been going on for all of last week. The haulers were refusing to collect refuse, purportedly because they were acting in solidarity with their striking brethren in Youngstown, OH. The strike affected thousands of homes throughout the Northeast part of the state, with replacement workers unable to cover the striking workers' routes.
"Out of respect for their communities and the customers they serve, our members chose to suspend the strike," Ken Hall, the union's international General Secretary-Treasurer, said in a news release. "I hope their act of good faith is matched by Republic's good faith at the bargaining table."
The company and the Teamsters have been at odds for some time now, with both sides filing unfair labor practices against each other with the Board. The major sticking point in contract negotiations continues to be whether or not the company will keep its employees on a pension plan. We will certainly keep you posted, as there well may be more support strikes before contract negotiations are concluded.
UC Employees Set to Vote on Whether to Walk Off the Job: Mia Shaw of the Daily Californian writes that workers at the University of California are set to vote at the end of the month on whether to authorize a workers' strike. The employees, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), are attempting to raise awareness over patient-care issues at UC hospitals.
“UC administrators are asking frontline care providers to subsidize chronic understaffing, growing management bloat and unprecedented executive excess at UC’s taxpayer-supported teaching hospitals,” said Kathryn Lybarger, president of AFSCME 3299. “That’s something we simply will not do.”
The hospital employees have been working without a contract since September of last year. Negotiations have been slow, with little progress being made since the prior contract's expiration. The company dismissed the workers' concerns in a statement, providing that the strike vote was nothing but a bargaining chip. We will certainly keep you posted as to the results of the strike vote.
Tribes, Board Spar Over Scope of NLRB Jurisdiction: Indian Country writes that several recent decisions of the National Labor Relations Board involving Native American Reservations have cast a spotlight on whether or not the NLRB 's jurisdiction really expands to cover conduct occurring on Tribal lands. Last week, the Board sanctioned the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan for prohibiting employees at two of its Casinos from discussing union organizing efforts. Also last week, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians filed a complaint in Federal Court challenging the NLRB's assertion of jurisdiction over its employees.
"It is well established under the law that an Indian tribe's exercise of inherent authority is protected from infringement by a federal agency or board under color of a federal statute absent a clear directive from Congress," Kaighn Smith, a lawyer for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, wrote in a brief to the NLRB.
This will not be the first or last time that the Board's jurisdiction over Indian Tribes is challenged. The Board regularly attempts to assert its authority over activities occurring on Reservations, particularly at Casinos, so it would be wise for employers on Reservations to be aware of Board policies and procedures so as not to run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act.
Intrepid Potash Looking to Unionize: KOB.com reports that workers at Potash Intrepid in Carlsbad, NM are looking into forming a union for the purpose of collective bargaining. A United Steelworkers representative has issued a statement on the matter, providing that several employees at Potash reached out to the union, complaining of difficult working conditions and low pay. A company spokesperson said that while the company respects workers' rights, it does not see how involving a third party would help the two sides come together. We will keep you updated as this situation moves forward.
Boston Hotel Workers Bring ULP Charges: Christine Y. Cahill and Samuel Y. Weinstock of the Harvard Crimson write that last week, workers at DoubleTree Suites in Boston filed unfair labor practice charges against their employer, alleging that management officials have attempted to interfere in the unionization process. Most significantly, Unite Here!, the union hoping to represent the employees, asserts that DoubleTree retaliated against an organizer by cutting his hours. A spokesperson for the Hotel declined comment. We will certainly keep you posted as this charge moves towards a resolution.
A recent Occupational Safety and Health Act development could have significant impact on union organizing campaigns. In a Standard Interpretation letter dated February 21, 2013, OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard E. Fairfax wrote that nonunion employees can designate a union representative to participate in an OSHA inspection at their work site:
The OSH Act authorizes participating in the walkaround portion of an OSHA inspection by "a representative by [the employer's] employees." 29 U.S.C. § 657(e). Therefore, a person affiliated with a union without a collective bargaining agreement or with a community representative can act on behalf of employees as a walkaround representative so long as the individual has been authorized by the employees to serve as their representative. This right, however, is qualified by the Secretary's regulations, which allow OSHA compliance officers (CSHOs) to exercise discretion over who participates in workplace inspections.
The Interpretation states that "there may be times when the presence of an employee representative who is not employed by that employer will allow a more effective inspection." According to Fairfax:
It is OSHA's view that representatives are "reasonably necessary" when they will make a positive contribution to a thorough and effective inspection.
And, as you point out, there are numerous ways that an employee representative who is neither an employee of the employer being inspected nor a collective bargaining agent could make an important contribution to a thorough and effective inspection. This could be because of the representative's experience and skill, for example because of experience evaluating similar working conditions in a different plant. There are also many instances where non-English speaking workers want a representative who is fluent in both their own language and English, something that will facilitate more useful interactions with the CSHO during the inspection. Finally, workers in some situations may feel uncomfortable talking to an OSHA CSHO without the trusted presence of a representative of their choosing.
This OSHA Interpretation is significant to labor relations because it appears to dilute OSHA's own regulations requiring that the employee representative be employed by the employer being inspected except in limited circumstances. Specifically, 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c) states:
The representative(s) authorized by employees shall be an employee(s) of the employer. However, if in the judgment of the Compliance Safety and Health Officer, good cause has been shown why accompaniment by a third party who is not an employee of the employer (such as an industrial hygienist or a safety engineer) is reasonably necessary to the conduct of an effective and thorough physical inspection of the workplace, such third party may accompany the Compliance Safety and Health Officer during the inspection.
Where employees are not represented by an authorized representative, there is no established safety committee, or employees have not chosen or agreed to an employee representative for OSHA inspection purposes (regardless of the existence of a safety committee), CSHOs shall determine if other employees would suitably represent the interests of employees on the walkaround. If selection of such an employee is impractical, CSHOs shall conduct interviews with a reasonable number of employees during the walkaround.
Moreover, the manual states that even where the employees involved are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the representative chosen by the union must still be an employee of the employer pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c).
As a result of this apparent relaxing of the requirements in Section 1903.8(c), the Interpretation may well encourage unions to use OSHA complaints and inspections as an organizing tool to get both access to an employer's facility and additional exposure to its employees during organizing campaigns. Indeed, according to the Interpretation, all that will be required to satisfy the "good cause" requirement of Section 1903.8(c) is some employees expressing discomfort at talking to the OSHA inspector without a union representative.
Consequently, employers should monitor how this Interpretation is applied, especially at facilities where there are plant safety committees, to determine if the creation of such a committee and other measures, if any, can be taken to minimize the likelihood that an OSHA inspector will permit a union representative to serve as the employees' representative during an inspection.
Rivers Casino Workers File ULPs Against Management: AmyJo Brown of the Pittsburgh City Paper reports that workers at the Rivers Casino have filed thirty-eight separate unfair labor practice charges against management officials, alleging a coordinated effort aimed at preventing employee organizing. The employees have been attempting to organize 800 of the casino's almost 2,000 workers since early last week, when employees supportive of Unite Here brought a sheet-cake into the break room announcing the campaign.
Rivers Casino has been in hot water with the NLRB before. In 2011, the Board found that the casino's parent company had engaged in unlawful surveillance activity during a prior attempt to organize. We will keep you posted, as this is a very fluid situation.
Strongsville School Board Meeting Gets Testy: Cory Shaffer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that yesterday, the Strongsville, OH school board held its first public meeting since the Strongsville teachers went on stroke almost six weeks ago. Interestingly, of the twenty members of the public allowed to speak during the hour-long meeting, the vast majority spoke favorably of the school board, with many of them openly ripping the Strongsville Education Association (SEA), which is the union supporting the striking teachers.
In a sign that the union is fracturing, a board member noted that 57 teachers are preparing to cross the picket lines in order to get back to teaching. Fortunately for all sides involved, a federal mediator is scheduled to sit down with the parties on April 21 in order to attempt to resolve the strike, which has affected about 6,000 students. We will keep you posted as new developments arise.
Patient Care Workers at UC Mulling Strike Authorization: Andrea Koskey of the San Francisco Examiner reports that over 13,000 workers employed by the University of California medical system are expected to vote later this month on whether or not to initiate a workers' strike. The employees have been working without a contract for the last ten months and have expressed a great deal of concern over recent layoffs of "front line" patient care workers.
“We’ve bargained in good faith and worked to secure a contract that puts patient safety first and honors the principle of basic fairness to the frontline care professionals at the foundation of the UC medical system,” union President Kathryn Lybarger said in a statement. “Instead of agreeing to these basic standards, UC administrators are asking frontline care providers to subsidize chronic understaffing, growing management bloat and unprecedented executive excess at UC’s taxpayer-supported teaching hospitals.”
In a statement, UC officials countered the union's contention, arguing that the focus on patient care is nothing more than a red herring. Instead, the union's main concern is the continuation of the employee pension plans. We will keep you posted on the results of the strike vote.
SEIU and CareOne Facing Off in New Jersey: Colleen Diskin of NorthJersey.com writes that a full year after employees at a CareOne nursing home in New Milford, NJ voted to be represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), management officials and the recently-minted union just can't seem to get along. There have been a myriad of unfair labor practice charges filed against CareOne by the union, including allegations of unilateral changes; intimidation; and unlawful interrogation.
Moreover, the union has begun to engage in some unsavory tactics, including running advertisements questioning CareOne's ability to tend to its patients. Currently, a recent unfair labor practice finding is being appealed by CareOne. We will keep you posted, as this dispute will surely not resolve itself amicably anytime soon.
Aztar Workers to Vote on Deauthorization Friday: Susan Orr of the Evansville Courier and Press reports that workers at Casino Aztar in Illinois will vote on whether employees will have the ability to withdraw from union membership before their current contract expires. If a majority of workers approve of the deauthorization vote, then individual employes can choose to no longer be represented by the United Auto Workers.
“The union has not represented me in any way since they came in here. I feel like I’ve paid dues for nothing,” [Gordon] Jones, [a casino worker,] said Wednesday.
Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the UAW will still be obligated to represent all employees in collective bargaining. We will keep you updated on the results of the deauthorization vote.
Garbage Hauler Prepared to Hire Strike Replacements: Josephine Woolington of the Register-Guard writes that Sanipac, a Glenwood, OH-based garbage hauling company, is prepared to hire strike replacements if drivers and mechanics at the company decide to walk off the job. Yesterday, union and management officials met for almost six hours in an attempt to strike a deal for a new contract. Workers at Sanipac have been working without a contract since last June. We will certainly keep you posted as this dispute moves towards a resolution.
Board Loses Appeal to Reinstate Fired Workers: Linda Chiem of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal lodged by the National Labor Relations Board that would have reinstated six terminated employees who were allegedly fired for supporting an organizing campaign at the Mardi Gras Casino in Florida. In pertinent part, the panel held that the District Court did not err in finding that the union campaign had grown cold before the workers were terminated.
"The district court's factual finding that the organization campaign had dramatically slowed before the discharges took place was hardly clearly erroneous, and it is not apparent from the record that the discharges themselves had a clear chilling effect on the volume of cards coming in," the panel said. "This is not a case — or not clearly a case, in any event — in which the union campaign was humming along and then the discharges put it on ice."
Neither party commented on the ruling for the story. Interestingly, the Board is still wrapping up administrative proceedings with the Mardi Gras Casino, so we may yet hear more from them in the coming weeks and months. We will keep you posted.
Teamsters' Strike in Ohio Brings Trash Pickup Delays: Olivera Perkins of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that residents in Northern Ohio have begun to feel the effects of the Teamsters' strike against Republic Services, which has now entered its third day. The Teamsters went on strike Monday in order to show support to its Youngstown, OH members, who have been striking for almost three weeks. Interestingly, there seems to be some discord in the union's ranks, with some members reportedly crossing the pickets. However, a spokesperson for the teamsters was quick to rebut the allegation.
"Striking workers' lines have varied in length over the past two weeks, and a smaller line is not the same as people crossing lines," said Leigh Strope, the union's assistant director of communications. "The vast majority of members, when asked, have made the decision to honor and support their fellow workers."
The labor dispute stems from long-running contract negotiations between the two sides, which are set to continue Thursday. The main sticking point is the company's desire to replace its current underfunded pension plan with a 401K plan, something the workers have vehemently contested. We will keep you updated as negotiations move forward to a resolution.
Chicago Teachers Union wants Mayor Emanuel Out: Rachel Bogart at Yahoo! writes that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is moving forward with efforts to oust Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel due to the city's decision to shut down dozens of schools in the metro area. The union plans to put significant financial resources behind a candidate capable of defeating Mayor Emanuel. Furthermore, the union will be targeting members of the General Assembly, as well as city Aldermen, for replacement because of their purported less-than-pro-school stance. We will certainly keep you updated as the elections draw nearer.
Gov. Christie Vetoes Sandy Project Labor Agreements Expansion: Joshua Alston of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed S2425, a bill that would have expanded the definition of "public works project" to include bridges, highways, and water treatment plants. Defining such structures as "public works" would have opened the bidding for reconstruction up to project labor agreements, which Gov. Christie believes would slow down the recovery and rebuilding processes.
“This bill would significantly alter public contracting in this state at a time when the swift reconstruction, rebuilding and redevelopment of public infrastructure is a priority,” Christie said.
The President of the Senate expressed his disappointment in the veto, saying that project labor agreements would bring new jobs into the state.
“This administration continues to see no problem with the recovery effort being led by out-of-state companies employing people not from New Jersey,” [Senate President Stephen] Sweeney said. “It simply lacks sense to not try and have as many people as possible from this state employed in rebuilding it."
At this point, there are no plans to tweak the bill for a new vote. However, we will keep you posted if things change.
More ULPs Filed Against Palermo's: Georgia Pabst of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that a union representing workers at Palermo Villa, Inc. has filed unfair labor practice charges against the company, alleging that Palermo fired two workers in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. In related news, seven Milwaukee aldermen sent an open letter to the company yesterday, urging Palermo to meet with its employees in order to resolve a wage dispute that has now lasted for ten months.
"We are concerned that the continuation of labor strife through lengthy legal processes, local and national boycott campaigns at supermarkets and campuses, and other activities are damaging to longtime and new employees alike, and will keep bringing negative publicity to Palermo's management and to our city as well," said the letter addressed to Palermo Villa.
Palermo did not respond substantively to the allegations, other than to issue a blanket denial. We will keep you posted as the investigation moves forward.
Teachers in North Pocono Set to Strike: Stacy Lange of WNEP16.com reports that teachers in North Pocono, PA have notified administrators that they plan to walk off the job this coming Thursday. Last night, the teachers' union rejected a last-minute proposal from administrators that would have averted the coming labor unrest.
While the teachers have been working without a contract since June, the strike notice comes as somewhat of a surprise because North Pocono teachers have never before walked the pickets. Apparently, the main sticking point in negotiations is out-of-pocket health care costs, an issue neither side plans to move on anytime soon. We will keep you posted as the situation develops.
Strongsville Teachers' Strike Enters Seventh Week: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Strongsville, Ohio teachers' strike is now in its seventh full week and shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Negotiators for both sides met for about thirteen hours last night, with the session finishing in the wee hours of this morning without a resolution. The strike has involved almost 400 teachers and has impacted over six thousand students in the Ohio town. We will keep you posted with any updates to this story.
Workers at American Crystal Sugar Back on the Job: The Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports that workers at American Crystal Sugar plants are headed back to work in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa after a 20-month long lockout. The workers, represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, voted to ratify a contract proposal that they had rejected on four prior occasions. Based in northern Minnesota, American Crystal is the country's largest sugar beet producer, employing some 2,800 growers.
UAW Hones in on Mercedes Plant in Alabama: Dawn Kent at Alabama.com writes that the United Auto Workers (UAW) has continued its recent trend of targeting southeastern auto plants for unionization campaigns by setting its sights on the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. While it is hard to tell how much traction the UAW has gained thus far, it is clear that organizational efforts have been going on for about a year. Scholars fear that increased unionization efforts will give major companies pause before deciding to move down to the southeast.
"I don't think there's any doubt the reason that a lot of these automakers chose to operate in the South is they thought their chances were high that they could operate union-free," [said a Samford Law School professor]. "I suppose if one of the big automakers were to become unionized, that might dissuade companies from bringing more plants to the South."
Several unions have made plays at Mercedes in the past, with the UAW failing to succeed in an organizing campaign in 2007. We will certainly keep you posted.
UAW Ups Ante at TN Volkswagen Plant: Dan Chapman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in a story published by the Modesto Bee, writes that the United Auto Workers (UAW) are lobbying workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN in the hopes of representing them in collective bargaining negotiations with management. Political officials have expressed varying levels of alarm at the UAW's efforts, with the Governor fearing that a unionized presence could "deter investment" from the state. Further, labor scholars have acknowledged that a unionized presence in the deep south could have a domino effect at other major operations.
"This is a game-changer. It is a very big deal that potentially begins to redefine labor-management relations," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley who specializes in labor issues.
As of now, all of the South's foreign auto plants are non-union. The UAW has already attempted to organize workers in both Mississippi and Tennessee and has failed at each attempt. We will keep you posted as this story moves forward.
NLRB Accuses Cablevision of Bargaining Violations: Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will be issuing unfair labor practice charges against Cablevision, alleging that the company has bargained in bad faith. The fight between Cablevision and workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has been both loud and long, with workers engaging in protests and the company filing lawsuits.
The represented employees have been working without a contract since they voted to be represented by the CWA in bargaining negotiations some 15 months ago. Not surprisingly, Cablevision is contesting the Board's assertions that it has been negotiating in bad faith.
“We have a complete package of contract proposals on the table in front of the communications workers, and we are awaiting a response,” [stated a company spokesman.]
As of now, the case will proceed to an administrative hearing to determine whether the Board's charges hold water. We will keep you posted with any updates to this story.
UMass Nurses Give Leaders Strike Authorization: Boston.com reports that Nurses working at UMass Memorial Hospital have voted to give their union leaders the authority to call a one-day strike. The nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, are in the middle of negotiations with management over a new contract. The sticking points so far, namely staffing levels and benefits, have caused the negotiations to run for over a year now. A hospital spokesperson said that UMass Memorial was "disappointed" with the results of the strike authorization vote.
Kellogg, Union Settle Plant Closure Suit: Ama Sarfo of Law360 ($$) writes that a Federal judge in Pennsylvania has approved a settlement between Kellogg Co. and the Teamsters, Local 926 over a plant closure in the state last year. The Teamsters had alleged that Kellogg had breached a "memorandum of understanding" between the parties, wherein Kellogg promised to provide the union with a business justification if Kellogg was forced to close the plant.
According to Local 926, “Kellogg expressed its interest in pursuing the transfer-station alternative if it was economically and operationally feasible.” And in the memorandum, Kellogg agreed to “strongly review the recommendation of the union” and “provide the union with the business rationale” if the satellite center was not viable, according to the complaint.
Neither party responded to requests for comment. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available, but the Judge said her order closing the case would not prevent future litigation if either party believed it to be necessary.
SEIU Files Board Charges Against UPMC: Alex Nixon of TribLive reports that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has filed unfair labor practice charges against the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC). The charges assert that UPMC has been disciplining, harassing, and suspending workers for discussing union activity. Further, SEIU alleges that a union member who was recently fired by UPMC was supposed to be reinstated as the result of a recent out-of-court settlement between the parties. A spokeswoman for UPMC denied the charges, stating that UPMC would contest the SEIU's newest allegations with the National Labor Relations Board.
SPCO Players, Management On Cusp of Settling: Daniel Wakin of the New York Times reports that members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) have almost reached a tentative settlement with management that would end a labor strike that has caused concert cancellations since last October. At this point, the only remaining issues to be resolved at the negotiating table involve broadcasting and recording rights.
“We are excited to return to the stage as quickly as possible,” Carole Mason-Smith, the co-chair of the musicians’ negotiating committee, said. One difficulty in planning for a resumption of performances is that some orchestra members have taken up temporary jobs with other ensembles, Mr. West said.
Both sides heaped praise on St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who had been prodding the parties to break their long impasse. Interestingly, the Twin Cities' other major orchestra is also embroiled in a labor dispute that shows no signs of abating. We will keep you posted on both stories as they move forward.
NFL Argues CBA Governs Player Injury Claims: Dan Packel of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, attorneys representing the National Football League (NFL) in multidistrict litigation asked a federal judge to toss a collective action brought by former players that asserts that the League is liable for player head injuries. Yesterday's argument was the first time that the multidistrict litigation, which involves thousands of former players, had made its way into the courtroom. In oral argument, NFL attorneys emphasized the all-encompassing nature of the bargaining agreements between the former players and the League.
“As part of the collective bargaining agreement, you get certain extraordinary rights — for example, the players have almost unprecedented benefits, retirement, disability. But at the same time ... you don’t have the same rights to sue an employer that someone in a nonunion industry may have,” [an attorney for the NFL] said after the hearing.
Yesterday's oral argument involved a motion to dismiss, so expect a great deal more litigation before this matter is over. We will certainly keep you posted, as always.
Board Nominee Johnson Confirms Belief in "Free Enterprise System": Yesterday, President Obama's most recent nominee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Harry Johnson, gave a short interview to the Washington Examiner wherein he expressed his excitement at the nomination and his belief in the "free enterprise system."
“I am extremely honored and thrilled to be nominated for this. I intend to serve the American people, if confirmed, and, at the end of day apply the (National Labor Relations) Act in such a way that we recognize that it is part of a free enterprise system,” Johnson said.
Interestingly, the interview also touched on current issues in labor law, including the oft-proposed "card-check" legislation. Johnson attempted to dodge the question, but hinted that he did not support the idea. While Johnson must still be confirmed by the full Senate, it will be interesting to watch what happens when the Board has a full complement of five members, including two Republicans. We will certainly be paying attention here at @LRToday and will keep you updated.
Teamsters Laud Board Nominations: The Herald Online ran a press release from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters yesterday, wherein current Teamsters General President James Hoffa praised President Obama's selections.
"These bipartisan nominees clearly indicate President Obama wants to rise above petty political games," Hoffa said. "I call on the Senate to confirm these nominees quickly so the NLRB can concentrate on the important task of making sure workplaces are productive, fair and safe and workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively are safeguarded."
Again, it remains to be seen how quickly the Senate acts to confirm President Obama's nominees. A quicker confirmation process would bring some much-needed stability to the Board, whose legitimacy has been thrown into uncertainty as a result of the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning ruling.
Judge Slams NFL Retirees Trying to Block Settlement: Jonathan Randles of Law360($$) writes that yesterday, a District Court Judge sitting in Minnesota approved a settlement between the National Football League (NFL) and a group of former players over the NFL's use of the players' publicity rights. In the process, Judge Paul A. Magnuson also took time to chastise a splinter group of NFL retirees who had attempted to scupper the deal.
“It bears repeating: the individuals who originally brought this lawsuit and who now oppose the settlement rode into court on the banner of saving their downtrodden brethren, those who had played in the NFL yet today were penniless and, often, suffering from injuries or illnesses directly related to their playing days,” Judge Magnuson said. “It is the height of disingenuousness for these same plaintiffs to now complain, like children denied dessert, that the settlement does not benefit enough the individuals who brought the lawsuit.”
The settlement expressly provides that all funds must directly benefit former players and their families. Further, the agreed-upon terms mandate the creation of a licensing agency to market the retirees' publicity rights.
Investigation Over Port Sabotage Concludes: Emily Gillespie of The Columbian reports that police in Vancouver, Washington have concluded their investigation regarding allegations that a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) damaged $300,000 worth of equipment belonging to United Grain Corp. at the Port of Vancouver. The investigation has been sent to the District Attorney for review, who will make a decision as to whether to file charges in the next couple of weeks.
Tensions at the Port of Vancouver have been high since United Grain locked out ILWU-represented dockworkers at the end of February. Since then, union members have regularly picketed the Port. Police have been stationed near the picketers for weeks now in an attempt to maintain order.
In a sign that the labor strife is nowhere near ending, the ILWU recently filed unfair labor practice charges against United Grain, alleging that the company has engaged in surface bargaining. We will keep you posted as this situation unfolds.
NLRB to Pursue Action Against Cablevision: Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times writes that the National Labor Relations Board will be filing unfair labor practice charges against Cablevision. Yesterday, the Board alleged that Cablevision had made illegal threats and also offered illegal inducements to employees in order to keep the employees from unionizing. The Board further asserted that such actions effectively chilled the organizing effort to such an extent that workers felt compelled to vote against joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Cablevision disputed the charges in a press release, stating specifically that the CWA was engaging in mudslinging. The case will now proceed to an Administrative Law Judge, who will then render a decision. We will keep you posted as this case moves forward.
Newly-Unionized CenturyLink Workers File ULPs: Carolina Bolado of Law360 ($$) reports that CenturyLink telecommunications employees in Florida are claiming that their employer has made several unilateral changes to their health care plan in retaliation for the workers forming a union. The union filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board approximately two weeks ago, which further assert that CenturyLink has failed to pay out previously negotiated bonuses.
“The employer unilaterally changed the employee's status to ineligible in retaliation for the vote for representation, which was certified on Feb. 14, 2012 by the NLRB, without notifying the union or bargaining in good faith,” the workers said in the complaint.
A spokeswoman for CenturyLink denied the allegations, stating that the company is continuing its obligation to bargain in good faith with the newly-minted union.
Union at Detroit Bakery Guilty of ULPs: David Muller of MLive.com writes that a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge found that the United Catering Cafeteria and Vending Workers International Union (UCCVWIU) forced Awrey Bakery in Detroit to fire one of its workers involved in negotiations with the Bakery over a new contract. The ALJ specifically provided that such malfeasance is detrimental to the bargaining relationship. As a result of the ruling, the UCCWVIU will be compelled to pay the fired worker lost wages and benefits.
Students, Professors Plan Massive Walkout at IU This Week: James Cersonsky of The Nation writes that students and staff members at Indiana University are expected to leave class and walk off the job this coming Thursday and Friday to protest fee hikes and wage freezes. Further, the students and staff are hoping to raise awareness of diversity issues on campus.
"We're trying to encourage a culture of resistance, where different people who are involved in the struggle can organize on their own," a student organizer, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Nation. While there are regular general assemblies for strikers and supporters, many participants "go back to plan things on their own basis."
In addition to the students and staff walking out, more than 100 faculty members have signed a petition standing in solidarity with the "strikers."
Challenge to "Right-to-Work" Law Lives Another Day: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday a Michigan judge refused the state's request to have a lawsuit challenging the legality of Michigan's new Right to Work law thrown out. The challengers are contending that the legislation was passed in violation of the state's open-meetings law.
“Regardless of how you feel about right-to-work laws, everyone has a stake in seeing that our government conducts business in a democratic and transparent way,” Karla Swift, president of the Michigan State AFL-CIO, said when the amended complaint was filed. “Any law passed while citizens were locked out of their capitol building should be struck down.”
The AFL-CIO has also filed suit in Federal Court, claiming that the law is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act. Interestingly, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to draft an advisory opinion regarding the law's legality in a sure sign that he is wary of legal challenges to the law. We will certainly keep you posted as this litigation moves forward.
NYC Fast Food Workers Plan Walk-Off: Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times writes that up to 400 fast food workers in New York City plan to walk off the job today to protest what they believe to be substandard wages and other unfair working conditions. The strike, sponsored by a labor coalition calling itself "Fast Food Forward", is the first major labor action aimed at fast food in the city since last November's walkout. Fast Food Forward's stated goal is to raise the average wage of fast food workers in the city to an even $15.00 per hour.
Gregory Reynoso, a driver for a Domino’s in Brooklyn, complains that he is making $7.25 an hour after a year and a half on the job. “It’s impossible to support a family on $7.25 an hour,” said Mr. Reynoso, 26, who lives with his 3-year-old daughter and his wife, a part-time employee at Macy’s. “We’re just surviving.”
Most restaurants declined comment for the story, although Burger King defended its labor practices, stating that it provides entry-level work for thousands of city workers annually. This will certainly not be the last we hear from Fast Food Forward and its affiliates and we will keep you posted when they pop back up.
NFLPA Talks Up Collusion Claims: Mike Florio of NBCSports writes that DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA), has sent a letter to his constituents requesting that players report any suspicion of collusion among owners regarding market prices for players. The NFLPA has been careful to not explicitly accuse league owners of malfeasance, but it is clear that Mr. Smith is actively looking for evidence of the same. The NFL has denied any allegations of impropriety.
“Player signings in 2013 have been characterized by robust spending and intense competition,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told NFL Network’s Albert Breer. “Anyone seeing collusion in this market is seeing ghosts.”
It is important to emphasize again that no evidence of impropriety on the part of NFL teams or owners has been revealed at this point. However, it is also clear that the union is actively looking for anything that doesn't smell right. Smith's letter was very likely a Machiavellian means to serve his constituents by compelling NFL teams to pay premium prices for his players in order to avoid collusion charges. We will keep you posted if this story reappears.
SEIU Sues Gov. Corbett Over Health Center Closures: Matt Fair of Law360 ($$) reports that the Service Employees Industrial Union (SEIU) has filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in an effort to stop the shuttering of 26 community health centers in the state. SEIU claims that the planned closures will cause at least 73 workers to lose their jobs, while another 20 nurses would be subject to furloughs.
“Neither the governor, acting [DOH] Secretary [Michael] Wolf, the DOH, nor any other executive branch official has the legal authority to close state health centers, reduce the current number of state health centers, or reduce the level and scope of public health services,” the complaint said.
A spokesperson for the Governors office was unavailable for comment. Interestingly, several PA state Senators have signed their names to the lawsuit as well, making this situation somewhat reminiscent of the Executive/Legislative showdown we saw in the Noel Canning decision in January. We will keep you posted as this lawsuit moves forward.
Union Members Sue IAMAW Over Fines: Alejandra Cancino of the Chicago Tribune reports that almost thirty workers have joined together to file charges with the National Labor Relations Board against their representative union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). The unfair labor practice charges allege that the union illegally fined the workers for crossing the pickets during a strike at Caterpillar, Inc. last summer. In a seemingly particularly egregious case, member Jon Butler is alleging that he was fined almost $15,000.00, despite only being paid a little less than $13.00 per hour.
"It made me lose more respect for the union," said Butler, 23, who returned to work almost three weeks after the strike began on May 1. "I could have stayed longer in the picket line and file for bankruptcy, but being young as I am I was not going to risk my wife's future over a contract like this."
A Union spokesperson was unavailable for comment. The workers, currently being represented by the National Right to Work Defense Fund, expect to file more charges against the Union in the coming weeks. We will certainly keep you posted.
Striking OH Teachers Start Fighting PR Battle: Cory Shaffer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that striking teachers in Strongsville, Ohio have issued a press release arguing that their current salaries are nothing short of a "bargain" for Ohio taxpayers. The striking teachers, now off the job for the fifth week, stated that their salaries are the third-lowest out of ten schools in the region that received a rating of "Excellent with Distinction" from the Ohio Department of Education.
"The Strongsville teachers clearly go the extra mile for their students and give residents bang for their buck," said SEA President Tracy Linscott in the release. "The time has come to debunk the myth that Strongsville teachers are overpaid, when in fact the truth may be just the opposite."
Both sides are expected to meet this morning in an attempt to resolve their differences and get the strikers back to work. We have been following this story since the strike began and will certainly keep the updates coming.
Retired NFL Players Look to Mend Class Schisms: Jonathan Randles of Law360 ($$) reports that a group of retired National Football League (NFL) players have begun playing up the terms of their potential settlement with the League over publicity rights in the hope that a splinter group of retirees opposing the settlement will change their minds. The pro-settlement group filed a motion in Minnesota District Court last week urging the court to grant preliminary approval to the settlement.
The splinter group opposes the $42million terms because the funds will be paid out to charitable organizations instead of directly to the players themselves. However, the pro-settlement group contends that the splinter group has mischaracterized the settlements' terms, stating that the funds will be used to assist retiring players with career transitioning. We will keep you updated as this process moves forward.
Nurses at Boston Quincy Set for Strike: Jessica Bartlett of boston.com writes that nurses at Quincy Medical Center in Boston, MA have approved a one-day strike, set to take place on April 11. The strike has been called to draw attention to what the nurses believe to be unsafe conditions for patients at the hospital.
"The public needs to know how worried we are, that we’ve been telling management we don’t consider this situation to be safe, and they have been refusing to discuss the staffing plan with us,” said Stacey McEachern, RN, a nurse in the emergency department, in a release.
The hospital, in a press release, noted that it was ironic that the nurses union claimed to be concerned primarily about patient care when a nurses' strike could have a massively negative effect on the same. Further, the release went on to characterize the strike as a negotiating tactic. As always, we will keep you updated on the simmering tensions.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Says 'No Thanks' to Latest Proposed Termsheet: Graydon Royce of the Minneapolis StarTribune reports that members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) have voted down a deal brokered by the Minneapolis Mayors' Office. The proposed deal, which would give the players a competitive base salary as well as an equivalent to overtime pay, was rejected in a non-binding vote yesterday.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the results and we’ll have to regroup,” said Jessica Etten, an SPCO spokeswoman.
Importantly, the SPCO has stated that a deal must be reached by April 8 of this year in order to salvage a portion of the current playing season. However, as of now no further talks have been scheduled. We will keep you posted.
Ralph's Grocery Asks SCOTUS to Weigh in on Picketing Row: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that Ralph's Grocery Co. has asked the United States Supreme Court to overturn a decision of the Supreme Court of California allowing unions to picket on private property outside of its stores. The California Supreme Court recently ruled that a union's picketing activity on private property is protected by California state labor law.
“Businesses that are free to exclude all other speakers from their private property should not be forced to open their property to labor-related protesters who are there for no reason other than to drive away customers,” the petition said.
While an attorney for Ralph's was unavailable for comment, a union attorney expressed hope that the Supreme Court would deny Ralph's request for review.
“The First Amendment theory that Ralphs has argued didn't find any takers in the California Supreme Court,” [attorney Paul More] said. “It's a theory that doesn't have any basis in precedent, and we are confident that the Supreme Court will recognize that and won't be interested in this case.”
OH Garbage Collectors Strike Continues: The Ohio TribToday reports that over 100 commercial refuse haulers, mechanics and landfill workers went on strike last Thursday. The group has been operating without a contract since this past November. Management officials have accused the union of refusing to negotiate in good faith. Meanwhile, the union has also alleged that management officials have committed unfair labor practices during negotiations.
The sides last met on March 14. Currently, the parties are not expected to meet again until April 9. Both sides agree that retirement benefits are the major sticking point in negotiations.
Philadelphia U Security Guards File ULP Charges: Emma Jacobs of newsworks.com writes that security guards at Philadelphia University have filed unfair labor practice charges against their employer, alleging that the University has interfered with the guards' attempts to collectively organize. Last week, the guards staged a protest on campus demanding better pay and more regular hours. Currently, the Board is investigating the allegations, but has yet to issue a complaint. We will certainly keep you posted.
Pilots' Group Throwing Wrench into Merger Plans: Jake Simpson of Law360 ($$) writes that a group of plaintiffs ostensibly representing former American West Airlines Inc. pilots has filed suit in an attempt to put a stop to the merger between AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. The crux of the pilots' allegations is that the U.S. Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) has been refusing to implement and make use of the correct seniority list. The seniority list, stemming from an award by Arbitrator Nicolau (the "Nicolau Award") should take precedence over competing seniority lists, say the pilots.
"USAPA has never had an objectively legitimate purpose for repudiating its duty to order seniority according to the Nicolau Award," the plaintiffs said. "Indeed, there is strong legal authority to reject those reasons as a matter of law. It is highly likely that this litigation will result in judgment that USAPA has no objectively legitimate purpose for repudiating the Nicolau award."
An injunction against the merger would cause more problems for struggling AMR, which is currently in the middle of a court-assisted reorganization in New York under Chapter 11. We will keep you updated as this process moves towards a resolution.
Nurses, Deaconess Hospital Reach Settlement on ULP Charges: Jodi Hausen of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that nurses at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital have settled their unfair labor practice allegations with their employer. Under the terms of the settlement, the hospital has agreed to bargain in good faith with the nurses' union. Furthermore, the Hospital has agreed to change several of its internal policies, and in particular will now allow union representatives to accompany nurses to any potentially-disciplinary meetings. The Montana Nurses Association, the union representing the local nurses' union, was pleased with the settlement.
“The association believes we reached a fair and balanced resolution to our differences with Bozeman Deaconess Hospital,” Hauschild said in an email. “We look forward to moving forward and partnering with the hospital in whatever ways we can.”
The ULP charges were brought by the nurses in January of this year, not long after negotiations had broken down between the two sides. The settlement was most likely facilitated by the signing of a new collective-bargaining agreement in late February.
WADA and NFLPA Spar Over HGH Testing: The Boston Herald is carrying a story written by Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press, who explains that the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA), the union representing current NFL players, has again questioned the validity of the Word Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) HGH test. WADA Director General David Howman was less than impressed with the NFLPA's protestations.
"I would expect the players association to take a stance which is extremist," Howman told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "What we've got to do is get to reality and not to a position that is an extremist position."
Interestingly, the NFL is also pushing hard to implement HGH testing, which was agreed to in principal by the NFLPA in the parties' most recent collective-bargaining agreement. However, implementation protocols have yet to be worked out. We will keep you posted.
SEIU Gets to Keep Million-Dollar Award, Says 9th Circuit: Ciaran McEvoy of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a $1.4million judgment against the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The court held that NUHW leadership was guilty of siphoning funds from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) coffers.
“The [rival group's] officers disagreed, which they may do, and they voiced their opposition, which they also may do,” the court stated in its ruling in the SEIU's favor. “What they may not do under the law is use their union's resources to actively obstruct implementation of the final decision.”
The case arose because NUHW leadership formerly had been employed by the SEIU. However, the NUHW was created by dissident SEIU members after the SEIU decided to consolidate several major healthcare unions. An NUHW spokesperson was unavailable for comment at the time this story was published.
Georgetown Adjuncts Set For Union Vote: Soo Chae of Georgetown's Vox Populi reports that adjunct professors at Georgetown University have moved one step closer to unionizing. The SEIU recently filed a request for election with the National Labor Relations Board. The election will most likely take place in mid-April, with Georgetown pledging to remain neutral in the lead-up to the vote.
“For adjuncts across the country, average full time equivalent salary is $21,000 per year with usually no health insurance, no benefits, no retirement plans, no access to professional development unless people happen to be in unions,” Maria Maisto, Georgetown Alum and president of the New Faculty Majority, said in her opening remarks.
Interestingly, Georgetown's President has also released an open letter to the community, asking all adjunct faculty to vote. We will keep you posted as the election nears.
Walmart sues Unions over Protests: Jessica Whole of the Chicago Tribune reports that Walmart has filed a lawsuit in Florida State Court against the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and OUR Walmart, a union subsidiary comprised of current and former Walmart employees. The suit, according to a Walmart spokesperson, was designed to protect customers and employees from disruptive union tactics.
A UFCW spokesperson referred the Tribune to OUR Walmart for comment, who had this to say:
"This is another attempt on Wal-Mart's behalf of ... silencing their employees and also the communities that support them," Denise Diaz, executive director of Central Florida Jobs With Justice Corp and a defendant named in the suit, said before reviewing the documents.
Walmart has not ruled out filing further suits in other states. Last January, representatives from OUR Walmart pledged to stop most of their picketing activities. However, this latest play between the parties will surely heighten hostilities.
Panera and Union Fight Over Appropriate Bargaining Unit: Ursula Zerilli of MLive.com writes that bakers represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union (the Union) have been locked in a battle with Panera Bread over whether Panera has a duty to bargain with the newly-formed union. The workers argue that the 17 employees currently being represented by the union constitute an appropriate bargaining unit, while Panera argues that all 45 local bakers should be included in the unit.
The National Labor Relations Board originally certified the 17 bakers as an appropriate unit in August, which the company has appealed. The case promises to drag on, mainly because of the D.C. Circuit's recent Noel Canning ruling, which has cast a great deal of uncertainty over the legality of the Board's decisions.
Pay Cuts Prompt New NYC Bus Driver Strike Threat: NY1 News reports that a new wage scale released by the companies employing New York City's school bus drivers includes an across-the-board 7.5% wage decrease beginning April 15 of this year. In response to the news, the union representing the bus drivers has stated that "all options are on the table," which could include another drivers' strike.
"As always in private industry we do have the right to strike, it is one of the options, but we will explore again, as I had said previous to the last strike, we really try to do everything we can in our power to get the result that we need without having to impact anyone with a strike," said ATU 1181 President Michael Cordiello.
The last drivers' strike lasted a little over a month and threw school-aged families' lives into chaos as they scrambled to find alternate transportation for their children. We will keep you posted as this situation develops further.
Strongsville Teachers' Strike Continues: Cory Shaffer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the now month-old Strongsville, Ohio teachers' strike shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Last Friday, the union asked an Ohio court to intervene in the dispute, while the school board has filed unfair labor practice charges with the State Employment Relations Board.
The strikers have recently begun picketing businesses where the board members work, adding an extra level of hostility to an already tense atmosphere. The two sides are currently scheduled to meet tomorrow with a federal mediator to attempt to resolve their issues. We will certainly keep you posted.
NFL Retirees Spar Over Settlement: Matthew Heller of Law360 ($$) reports that a group of six former NFL players filed a motion yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the district of Minnesota, asking the court to deny preliminary approval to a $42million settlement between the NFL and the retirees. The splinter group claims that the settlement is patently unfair because the retirees will not receive any direct benefits.
“Because direct distributions of benefits to class members are strongly preferred to cy pres distributions, and this case has no justification for a cy pres distribution, the proposed settlement is unfair on its face,” the group protested.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disagreed with the group's characterization of the settlement terms, calling it an "excellent result" for the proposed class. We will be following this litigation closely, because it is most likely just the tip of the iceberg. Lawsuits against the NFL have been coming thick and fast, particularly in light of new concerns being raised over repeated concussions. We will keep you posted.
Sequester Continues to Threaten NLRB Administration: Neil Resnikoff of MSNBC.com writes that expected furloughs at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will most likely slow the Board's administrative functions down to a snails' pace. The Board has already mailed out an advisory to its employees stating that they should be prepared for up to 22 days of furloughs before September.
“I think the National Labor Relations Board is going to have to implement some furloughs,” said Paul Secunda, law professor at Marquette University. “Some of the other agencies within the Department of Labor are also considering furloughs.”
The Board's adjudicatory functions had already been thrown into chaos due to January's Noel Canning ruling out of the D.C. Circuit, which held that the recess-appointments of several Board members were constitutionally invalid. Combined with the sequestration cuts, there is no telling how long it will take a case to move through the Board's procedures. We will be watching this issue closely and will keep you updated.
Ohio Teachers' Strike Trudges Along: The San Francisco Chronical writes that the Strongsville, Ohio teachers' strike has entered its third week and shows no sign of abating any time soon. Strongsville's mayor asked the school board and the teachers' union to meet in order to continue negotiations, but both sides refused, believing any further talks to be futile. As of now, it will be up to a federal mediator to bring the two sides towards a workable resolution.
The strike began three weeks ago when negotiations covering the teachers' 400-member bargaining unit broke down. More than 6,000 students and families have been thrown for a loop by the current unrest.
Board Issues Complaint Against Walmart Staffing Firms: Josh Eidelson at The Nation reports that the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against four separate companies who staff and manage Walmart's distribution center in Elwood, Illinois. The complaint alleges that the companies have repeatedly threatened and punished employees for attempting to organize.
"They had targeted organizers ever since we got back to the warehouse," Philip Bailey, one of the fired workers, said Monday.
Walmart did not respond to requests for comment. We will keep you posted as this matter moves through the Board's processes.
US and Canadian Soccer Referees Looking to Organize: Buzz Carrick of the Dallas Morning News reports that soccer officials in the United States and Canada, through the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), have filed documentation with the National Labor Relations Board in order to vote on whether the referees desire to be collectively-represented. If the referees vote to be represented by the PSRA, Major League Soccer will be forced to negotiate with the PSRA over the referees' new terms and conditions of employment.
A date for the election is yet to be set, but sources say that the referees are enthusiastic about unionizing. We will keep you posted as more information is disclosed.
Nippon Paper Employees on Strike: Paul Gottlieb of The Peninsula Daily News reports that as of this morning, more than 100 employees at Nippon Paper have walked off the job in protest over stalled contract negotiations. The workers, represented by the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, were also set to begin informational picketing in front of the Port Angeles paper mill.
Contract talks have been going on for almost two years now, with Nippon recently imposing its "last best offer" on the employees. The union is hoping to reopen talks, with assistance from a federal mediator. We will be following this story as it develops further.
In what should be a warning to all employers negotiating with unions regarding retiree benefits, the Second Circuit this week upheld a district court’s determination that an employer, was bound to honor an agreement it had entered into with the United Steelworkers to pay employees a medical allowance upon retirement. United Steel Workers v. Cookson America, Inc., 10-CV-041S (2d Cir. Mar. 18, 2013).
The employer and the Steelworkers were parties to a collective bargaining agreement covering employees at the company’s Hamburg, New York, steel plant and foundry. As part of the collective bargaining agreement, the employer agreed to pay employees that retired from the company and who had reached age 65 a one-time medical benefit allowance.
In August 2007, the employer announced it was going to close the Hamburg plant within one year. In response to the announcement, the company and union entered into an agreement that 1) the existing collective bargaining agreement would remain in effect until the Hamburg plant closure was complete, and 2) the company would continue to honor the retiree medical allowance provision of the collective bargaining agreement. The plant indeed closed in August 2008.
Sixteen months later, in December 2009, the employer announced that, as of January 1, 2011, it would no longer pay the retiree medical allowance to employees that retired from the company. The Union sued the employer and its corporate parent seeking a declaration that the parties’ pre-closure agreement obligated the employer to continue paying the retiree medical benefit. The district court agreed and the companies appealed.
Solomon Says Social Media Focus Stays: Ben James of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon made clear that the suspect constitutionality of the current Board will not affect his office's focus on employer social media policies. During a speech at Fordham University, Solomon also weighed in on January's famous Noel Canning ruling, which has cast uncertainty over the actions of the current Board.
“The government and I strongly believe that the D.C. Circuit's opinion is based on an incorrect analysis,” said Solomon.
Further, Solomon reiterated that the current NLRB is not "anti-business."
"We are totally cognizant of business interests,” Solomon said. “You just have to explain to us what your business interest is.”
Boston Nurses Okay Strike: Robert Weisman and Jessica Bartlett of the Boston Globe report that nurses at the Quincy Medical Center in Boston, MA have authorized a one-day strike in protest of the hospital's plan to lay off 30 nurses. The nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), are also concerned about the laying off of approximately 40 support staff.
“Our concern is not just the layoffs, it’s the closure of the floor,” [MNA Spokesman David] Schildmeier said. “The deal when they bought the hospital is that there was going to be no reduction of care.”
The nurses have also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the hospital, alleging that the hospital is refusing to bargain over certain terms and conditions of employment.
AZ Union Enrollment at Lowest Level in 25 Years: Howard Fischer of the Arizona Daily Star writes that new figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that only 125,000 workers in Arizona currently belong to a union. That works out to approximately 5% of the total labor force, which amounts to the lowest level of union participation in 25 years. Rebekah Friend, a director at the AFL-CIO, expressed disappointment at the figures.
"We're not adding jobs that even provide a living wage," she said. "We're becoming the call-center capital, or the place where you come when you don't want to deal with a union."
Arizona is already a "right to work" state, so workers cannot be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment. With the economy still in disarray, it is not surprising to see union enrollment down as unemployed individuals look for any available opening.
SEIU Strike Averted By Cooling-Off Period: LA Biz reports that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represented United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) and the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) have agreed to a 60-day "cooling-off" period in order to avert a strike that was set to begin last night. Negotiations regarding a new collective bargaining agreement between the parties will continue in earnest during the break in hostilities.
Both sides expressed confidence that a deal could get done. However, last Friday the SEIU filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the MPTF has refused to provide relevant information to the union. We will keep you posted as this spat moves towards a resolution.
AFGE Plans Wednesday Protest Against Sequestration Cuts: Josh Hicks of the Washington Post reports that the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the nation's largest union of federal workers, is planning a national day of protest in response to last month's sequestration cuts. The sequester, which took effect March 1 of this year, will most likely cause government employees to take involuntary furloughs in response to the mandatory budget cuts.
"Sequestration has got to go,” AFGE president J. David Cox Sr. said in a statement. “If federal employees are furloughed without pay, if offices and plants are shut down, if vacancies aren’t filled because of these across-the-board budget cuts, then federal employees won’t be able to do the work that the American public expects them to do.”
The AFGE has organized approximately 100 different protests that are set to go off at noon tomorrow. We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
Unite Here and Hyatt Set to Spar Over Board Nominee: Samantha Bomkamp of the Chicago Tribune writes that Unite Here!, the union representing the majority of Hyatt Hotels employees, plans to hold a "nomination convention" in Chicago, IL on Wednesday. During the convention, a vote is expected to be taken that will place Cathy Youngblood, a Hyatt housekeeping employee, on the company's board of directors.
Hyatt and the union have been engaged in a years' long labor dispute. Despite the fact that Hyatt has reached agreements in several locations with its workers in recent days, Chicago's employees are still working under an expired collective bargaining agreement.
Healthcare Workers Allege MPTF Bargained In Bad Faith: Dominic Patten of the Deadline reports that health care employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are planning to begin striking today in response to what they allege to be unfair labor practices committed by the Motion Picture and Television Fund's (MPTF) hospitals and facilities. Specifically, the SEIU alleges that MPTF bargained in bad faith, refused to provide relevant information to the union, and prematurely declared an impasse in negotiations.
MPTF declared impasse last week after two federal mediation sessions failed to produce an agreement between the parties. Through a spokesperson, the union said it was ready and willing to return to the bargaining table in order to produce a settlement "that is good for everyone."
Judge Rules that Casino San Pablo Violated NLRA: Tom Lochner of the Contra Costa Times writes that a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has found that the Casino San Pablo has committed a litany of unfair labor practices against union employees. In particular, the ALJ found that the Casino bargained in bad faith, bullied union workers, and denied benefits to employees based on their union status.
The Casino has been ordered to reimburse workers for the denial of benefits and to post a statement pledging to cease and desist from engaging in union animus. A spokesperson for the Casino declined to comment for the story.
SEIU Employees Vote to Strike: RedState.com reports that employees of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The employees have been without a contract since last September, when their previous agreement expired. Interestingly, this isn't the first time that the SEIU has experienced a "man bites dog" sort of incident. In 2009, SEIU employees picketed headquarters after approximately a third of working staff were laid off.
While it is unknown whether the SEIU employees will actually strike, it is interesting to see that even labor unions have internal strife. We will certainly keep you posted as this situation unfolds.
Washington Times Rips "Zombie" NLRB: The Washington Times published an editorial ripping the National Labor Relations Board's continued operation in light of the D.C. Circuit's January Noel Canning decision. Calling the current iteration of the board "the bureaucratic equivalent of...The Walking Dead," the Times wrote that the Board's continued operation while under a cloud of constitutional uncertainty does not do businesses or workers any favors.
In the interest of lifting the cloud of uncertainty, the president ought to send the Senate three replacement nominees not beholden to the unions.
The editorial further chastises President Obama for making his Board picks under constitutionally-suspect circumstances, which has caused this whole mess. Ideally, the Supreme Court will grant certiorari and sort everything out. However, in the interim businesses and labor unions continue to operate under the "Zombie Board," which is certainly an unsettling proposition.
Union Deduction Bill Clears Kansas Senate: John Milburn of Bloomberg Business Week reports that the Kansas Senate approved a Bill that would effectively bar unions from deducting money from employee's paychecks for political purposes. The Bill will now go back to the House to be reconciled with the Senate's amendments. Democrats, the party traditionally benefiting from union contributions, are crying foul at the measure's passage.
"I think the Legislature has crossed the line when we have a bill like this on the floor," said Sen. Tom Holland, a Baldwin City Democrat. "I'm flabbergasted. Just because you can technically do this doesn't make it right."
Public-sector unions have also argued that the Bill is an end-around to weaken their power. However, supporters countered that the Bill instead gives workers a choice as to how their hard-earned dollars are being spent. There is no prohibition on political donations; the worker simply must make an affirmative choice to donate herself.
Patriot Coal and UMW Face Off in Bankruptcy Court: The Logan Banner writes that Patriot Coal has asked a Bankruptcy Court judge to nullify the terms of its collective bargaining agreement with the United Mine Workers (UMW). The details of the terms of the CBA are currently unknown, as Patriot has submitted them to the court under seal. The UMW has called Patriot's proposal "unacceptable and unnecessary." We will keep you posted as this litigation moves forward.
Wisc. Bargaining Law Remains Unenforceable Pending Appeals: Sindhu Sundar of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday, a Wisconsin appeals court held that it would preserve a lower court's ruling invalidating portions of Wisconsin's controversial law that limits the collective-bargaining rights of public sector employees pending an appeal. The ruling strikes a blow to the efforts of Governor Scott Walker to rein in public-sector unions amid burgeoning deficits.
“Because the ultimate weighing of such factors was within the [Judge Colas’s] discretion, we see no basis to set aside [his] decision that a stay was not warranted,” the panel said Tuesday.
The lower court had found that limiting public-sector raises to "cost-of-living" increases only was unconstitutional. The state is certain to appeal and we will keep you posted as the matter moves towards a resolution.
Teachers and Students at Odds in Strongsville Strike: Cory Shaffer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Strongsville, Ohio teachers' strike, now in its second week, has generated strong responses both supporting and lambasting the teachers' union. Last week, hundreds of teachers staged a march to raise awareness of their cause. However, along the way, they encountered angry students and parents who just want the teachers to go back to work.
“There’s a lot of bad behavior and bullying going on right now, and I feel like the parents need to speak,” said Laura Phillips, Strongsville High School’s cheer leading adviser. “In today’s economy, people should be happy to have a job, period. Teachers need to get back to work because we need some normalcy in this town.”
Students also stated that they feel betrayed and "abandoned" because of the strike and just want things to get back to normal. Currently, no further negotiations are planned, so the strike is set to continue through the weekend at least.
Exchange Students Strike at PA McDonalds: David Macary of the Huffington Post writes that last week a group of student guest workers staged an impromptu strike to protest their working conditions at a central Pennsylvania McDonalds franchise. Specifically, the students alleged that McDonalds had promised them full-time employment, but are currently staffing them only a few hours a week. The students also complained that they have not received overtime to which they are entitled.
Bankruptcy Court OKs Dewey WARN Class-Action: Maria Chutchian of Law360 ($$) reports that last Friday, a New York bankruptcy court signed a proposed consent order that would allow former Dewey and LeBoeuf employees to proceed with a collective WARN action. The Federal WARN statute provides that employers must provide workers with at least sixty-days' notice prior to any mass layoffs.
The class includes Dewey employees who worked at the firm’s New York and Washington, D.C., offices and were laid off about May 15, 2012. The workers claim they were not given the required notice for layoffs under state and federal law.
The suit seeks back pay for the late layoff notice, as well as attorneys' fees and costs. Interestingly, the notice of class action specifically states that there is currently no money to pay putative class members should they prevail.
MO Senate Gives Green Light to Union Paycheck Bill: Jordan Shapiro of the Kansas City Star writes that as of this morning, the Missouri Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would require public employees to sign consent forms before union fees could be deducted from their paychecks. The bill's current language is the result of tense negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber. Some Democrats, however, remain miffed.
“Hope someday people in this chamber will stop bullying labor and cherish them like I do,” Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City, said.
The bill would also require annual consent forms before unions could spend public employee money on political campaigns. The current iteration of the bill excludes firefighters and police officers from its coverage, but that exemption will likely disappear when the bill is reconciled with the House.
TSA Screeners Union Opposes Knives at Checkpoints: Steve Strunsky of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that representatives of the Transportation Security Agency Screeners' Union have come out against the TSA's new ruling that would allow small pocket knives and golf clubs on airplanes.
"We believe it will be a very bad idea to allow knives at checkpoints," Jacqueline Simon, policy director for the screeners union, said in an exclusive interview last night.
Interestingly, the head of the TSA will defend the new ruling Thursday during a Homeland Security transportation subcommittee hearing. We will certainly keep you posted.
Board Attacks Noel Canning Delay Tactics: Stewart Bishop of Law360 ($$) reports that the National Labor Relations Board has attacked 24 Hour Fitness' attempt to avoid an entry of judgment by arguing that the Board has no authority to act in light of the D.C. Circuit's recent Noel Canning decision. In its brief filed last Thursday, the Board writes that the decision is an outlier and at odds with decisions from other circuits.
“Even in the absence of a circuit conflict, it has been the board’s longstanding practice not to acquiesce in adverse decisions by individual courts of appeals in subsequent proceedings involving different parties,” Solomon said.
Representatives for 24 Hour Fitness could not be reached for comment. This is merely the most recent iteration of the Noel Canning aftermath. Expect more, and expect them to come thick and fast. We here at @LRToday have been following these stories since day 1 and will continue to do so.
NLRB Prepares for Possible Regional Furloughs in Light of Sequestration: Brett Neely of Minnesota Public Radio reports that regional employees of the National Labor Relations Board may soon begin to feel the effects of the recent sequestration budget cuts. In Minnesota, Board employees have been put on notice that they may be subject to as many as 22 furlough days between now and September 30, 2013.
"We have three daughters, adult daughters, and none of them live here and absolutely we're postponing travel to see them until we see what's going on," said Florence Brammer, who has worked as a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Minneapolis for 30 years.
Commendably, employees have promised to work just as hard, even though their paychecks will shrink. Congress is currently attempting to come up with a solution to the sequestration debacle, so as of this point any furloughs are only speculation. We will keep you posted as this situation develops.
Thomas Perez to be Named Secretary of Labor: Lisa Mascaro and Don Lee of the Los Angeles Times write that Harvard-educated attorney Thomas Perez, currently with the Justice Department, will be appointed the new Secretary of Labor by President Obama. Perez, a first generation American, served as a staff member to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. His imminent appointment was lauded by labor leaders.
"He's a first-generation American, so in a way his story is the immigrant story," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for workers. "He's always been deeply committed to immigrant workers' rights, and I do think he can bring both a professional and personal perspective as we implement immigration reform."
Importantly, Perez' appointment must be confirmed by the Senate, which could cause some problems for President Obama. We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
Lackawanna College Union Protests Claim of Impasse: Sarah Hofius Hall of the Scranton Times-Tribune writes that Lackawanna College has imposed its last best offer on the Professors' union, sparking ire among Lackawanna faculty members. The faculty has been working without a contract since June of 2011 and has been engaged in negotiations with administrators for almost two years.
"This approach does not reflect an effort stemming from a high-mindedness that we espouse as one of this great college's mission criteria," union leaders wrote in a letter to their membership. "It is the epitome of a cruel irony that such a strategy would be exercised by a few individuals given great access to power over Lackawanna's operation, and thus its future."
The union plans to take its complaint to the National Labor Relations Board, but has stressed that it is still willing to engage in good-faith negotiations with the college. Lackawanna administrators declined to comment on the story.
Kansas Legislature Ponders Trimming Teachers Unions' Rights: Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star reports that lawmakers in Kansas are in the process of debating several pieces of legislation that would have the effect of limiting the collective-bargaining rights of Kansas' Teachers Unions. Another bill being debated would bar teachers' unions from using voluntary paycheck deductions for political purposes.
“We are seeing a lot of things that appear to be a direct attack on teachers,” said Kansas National Education Association President Karen Godfrey.
Last weekend, more than 300 teachers and supporters showed up at a legislative forum in Wichita in order to protest Kansas' attempts to limit the teachers' bargaining rights. Furthermore, several school boards have come out against the law, saying it is not the right way to reform the educational system in Kansas.
LA Mayoral Candidate Greul Gets Key Labor Backing: Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times reports that yesterday, Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel accepted the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union, Local 721 (SEIU). The SEIU represents over 10,000 city workers and has become a powerful influence in city politics.
“I am so grateful to the workers who every single day provide the services to our residents. Let’s not demonize them, let’s not divide our city. Let’s support our city,” Greuel said, ... “Let’s support our workers, let’s support business and let’s support a brighter future because each of us can make a difference. It means the world to me to stand here today with all of you because you make us proud.”
The announcement occurred at SEIU headquarters in downtown LA, where workers surrounded Greuel and held signs saying, "Wendy for Mayor." The runoff election is set to take place on May 21, 2013, and is expected to be a very tight race.
Longshoremen File ULP Charges Against United Grain: Erik Siemers of the Portland Business Journal reports that this past Monday the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) filed unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board against United Grain. The ILWU alleges that United Grain's lockout of ILWU Local 4 employees stems from union animus.
"This constituted loss of employment based on anti-union animus, and a sweeping unilateral change of terms and conditions of employment,” ILWU International President Robert McEllrath, a longshoremen based in Vancouver, said in a news release.
United Grain contends that it locked out Local 4 members in order to avoid further damage to its industrial equipment. United Grain has been negotiating with the ILWU over a new contract for months. In December, ILWU members overwhelmingly rejected United Grain's last offer, causing United Grain to implement the deal unilaterally.
Strongsville Students Protest Teachers' Strike: The San Francisco Chronicle carried an Associated Press article reporting that students affected by the Strongsville, Ohio teachers' strike have themselves began protesting outside of the local Board of Education offices. The students gathered together last night, with some stating that they did not feel safe with the current crop of replacement teachers. Others, however, expressed their displeasure over the high school principal's alleged warning to not post about the strike on social media fora.
The strike, now entering its third day, has affected over 6,000 students in the district. With no new talks scheduled, it's very likely we will not see a resolution before the weekend.
Bakers' Union Opposes Hostess Sell-Off: Jessica Hall of the Portland Press Herald writes that the union that represented bakers at Hostess before its bankruptcy has objected to the company's sale of its bread brands to Flowers Foods, Inc. The union contends that the sale terms do not offer any protections to its members.
"Flowers has not committed to preserve a single job, and in fact has affirmatively disclaimed any obligation even to 'consider' employing a single worker," the bakery union and pension fund said in a Feb. 25 court filing. "Thus, while debtors' secured lenders may view Flowers' bids as the 'best' for getting themselves paid, Flowers' bids provide zero assurances that the rights of the debtors' workers will be protected."
Interestingly, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan also objects to the sale, purportedly because the buyers would be able to shirk their obligations to comply with environmental laws. We have been following the Hostess debacle for some time here and will certainly keep you posted with any further developments.
District Court Declares Convergys' Class-Action Waivers Unenforceable: Bill Donahue of Law360 ($$) reports that last Friday, a U.S. District Court Judge in Missouri invalidated Convergys Corporation's employee class-action waivers. Judge Carol Jackson, in finding the waivers to be unenforceable, wrote that enforcing the waivers would violate the National Labor Relations Act.
“Collective and class litigation, through which employees band together to challenge employers’ policies on wages and hours, is concerted activity engaged in for the purposes of mutual aid and protection within the meaning of the NLRA,” the judge wrote.
Interestingly, Convergys is engaged in parallel litigation with the National Labor Relations Board. Last fall, an Administrative Law Judge invalidated the company's class-action waivers and the employer appealed the ruling to the full Board, which has yet to make a decision.
Former Chairman Schaumber Says It's Time to Scrap NLRB: Roll Call is carrying an editorial from former National Labor Relations Board Chairman Peter Schaumber, wherein he calls on Congress to scrap the NLRB. In particular, Schaumber argues that the current Board is partisan, acts in defiance of Federal law, and does not act as a collective. Schaumber's solution? Transfer the Board's power to the judiciary.
Transferring the board’s authority to the federal judiciary will give business confidence in its balanced application and the public the assurance that the protection of employee free choice on the question of unionization will be the central focus of this important American labor law.
Schaumber's harsh words will most likely fall on deaf ears, however, particularly because current Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce has already stated that the Board will continue to operate until further notice, which is ostensibly in violation of the D.C. Circuit's recent Noel Canning decision. Schaumber's voice just adds to the growing Conservative consternation surrounding the Board's continued operations. We will keep you posted with any further developments.
Chaos Reigns As Strongsville Teachers Go On Strike: Patrick O'Donnell of the Plain Dealer reports that teachers in Strongsville, OH made good on their threat to go on strike, hitting the picket lines yesterday. Students and parents stated that classrooms were packed to capacity as substitute teachers taught double or triple classes. By midday, the student parking lot was more or less completely empty, although approximately two-thirds of the student body had reported for school.
"There was some chaos in the beginning, lots of challenges," said school board President David Frazee, stressing that the district plans to hire more substitutes every day. "But we believe that every day it's going to get better and better."
Negotiations between the teachers' union and school board officials broke down earlier this month over the calculation of "step raises," although the union has already consented to a static wage scale. Teachers maintain that they deserve raises since the wage scale has not been increased since 2008. Currently, the average Strongsville teacher takes home approximately $65,000 per year.
5th Circuit Refuses to Enforce Board's Election Order: Scott Flaherty of Law360 ($$) reports that last Thursday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Arkema Inc. had not actually interfered in a decertification campaign. Therefore, the National Labor Relations Board's ruling throwing out the results of the related decertification election was erroneous. The court ruled that it was not enforcing a Board order invalidating a 2008 decertification election because the Board's reasoning was not supported by the facts of the case.
Prior to the 2008 election, the company had disciplined an employee who allegedly had threatened a coworker in an attempt to drum up union support. However, the court held that the nature of the conversation took it outside the bounds of protected activity.
“Even if the incident began as protected activity, Saltibus escalated the encounter, thus losing the protection of the act,” the Fifth Circuit said. “Harassment and intimidation are not protected union activities; offensive, hostile language and threats are not protected even if under the guise of union activity.”
Neither party had responded to a request for comment as of Friday afternoon.
NLRB Employees Could be Furloughed As Result of Sequestration: Eric Yoder of the Washington post writes that the effects of sequestration will be felt by employees of the National Labor Relations Board. Apparently, the Board has provided its employees with a memorandum outlining the probable effects of the sequestration cuts. In particular, Board employees will most likely be furloughed for up to 22 days this year. The furloughs could begin as soon as late March. As this development could have a direct effect on the Board's administrative functions, we will be following the situation closely.
Striking HealthBridge Nursing Home Employees Return to Work: Nicholas Rondinone and Mara Lee of the Hartford Courant write that more than 600 nursing home employees at five different HealthBridge nursing homes returned to work this past weekend. The strike began more than eight months ago as a result of rising pension and health care costs. The employees, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), returned to work approximately three months after a judge ordered HealthBridge to take the workers back and restore their pensions and health care benefits.
IL State Workers, Governor Reach Tentative Deal: John O'Connor and Sophia Tareen of the Associate press report that yesterday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) reached a tentative deal with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn that will narrowly avert the first-ever public workers' strike in the state of Illinois. An AFSCME spokesperson said the deal will include a pay raise. However, employees will also take on increased health care costs.
“AFSCME is very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that protects our members’ standard of living, and is fair to them and all Illinois citizens, even in these very challenging economic times,” Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer said in a statement.
The Governor's office had been negotiating with AFSCME officials for more than a year before last night's deal was struck. Illinois' unfunded pension, liability, the worst in the country, currently stands at $96 billion. As such, it is probably safe to assume that this will not be the last bit of labor unrest in Illinois.
Vegas Taxi Drivers Announce Plans to Strike: Tim O'Reilly of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that taxi drivers working for Yellow Checker Star Transportation plan to walk off the job at midnight Sunday after the company unilaterally implemented its last best contractual offer at the beginning of February. The drivers, represented by the Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union (ITPEU), account for a full quarter of Las Vegas' taxi fleet.
"The strike date could change if the employer comes back with a better offer, but that is doubtful," union spokeswoman Nicole Korkolis said.
The Nevada Taxicab Authority, the agency responsible for licensing cab drivers in the city, already has plans in place to distribute licenses to replacement cab drivers if and when ITPEU drivers begin to strike. We will keep you posted as this situation develops further.
Providence Hospital Workers Deliver Strike Notice: Rolf Boone of the NewsTribune reports that hospital workers at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Washington state have delivered notice to hospital administrators of their plan to strike from March 11 to March 16, 2013. The workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union, have grown increasingly frustrated by the hospital's refusal to expand its health care plans.
“If Providence still won’t make a commitment to affordable care, the strike will grow with 150 RNs, social workers, licensed practical nurses, and support staff from SoundHomeCare and Hospice joining the strike for three days starting March 13,” the SEIU said in a news release.
A hospital spokeswoman told reporters yesterday that the hospital already has contingency plans in place in case the strike goes forward. Furthermore, the hospital emphasized in a statement that it is prepared to resume negotiations at the bargaining table.
AFL-CIO Implores President Obama to Nominate a Full Labor Board: Ben James of Law360 ($$) writes that yesterday, the AFL-CIO executive council drafted a policy statement calling on President Obama to nominate a full slate of five members to the National Labor Relations Board. The AFL-CIO, representing 57 affiliate unions, further pledged to hold obstructing Senators from either party accountable for any foot-dragging.
“The president must immediately nominate, and the Senate must quickly confirm, a full package of nominees to the NLRB — five board members, including Chairman Mark Pearce, members [Richard] Griffin and [Sharon] Block, two Republican members, and Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon,” the statement said.
The policy statement also took a swipe at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent Noel Canning ruling, which purported to invalidate President Obama's recess appointments of Members Flynn, Block and Griffin. While a full Board would bring some much-needed certainty to labor law in this time of upheaval, expecting Senate Democrats and Republicans to quickly approve any Board nominations is probably wishful thinking at this point. We will certainly keep you posted if and when the nominations occur.
UAW Campaign Gaining Momentum at TN Nissan Plant: Nathan Bomey of the Detroit Free Press reports that hundreds of autoworkers at Nissan's Smyrna, TN plant gathered together yesterday to meet with UAW representatives in an effort to further UAW's organizing campaign at the plant. Previous UAW campaigns at the plant have failed to garner more than 30% of worker support for the union.
“We were surprised at the level of support,” an official said Wednesday. “It speaks to the amount of dissatisfaction in the company.”
Interestingly, current UAW President Bob King has stated that successfully organizing at a foreign-owned plant is one of the union's top priorities for the year. An election has yet to be scheduled, but we will keep you posted if the situation develops further.
School Board Fears Strongsville, OH Teachers' Strike: Jen Steer of newsnet5.com reports that the Strongsville, Ohio School Board has requested police officers to station themselves outside of all city schools on Monday in anticipation of a teachers' strike. David Frazee, the School Board President, spoke to reporters and expressed his dismay at the lack of progress in negotiations between the teachers' union and city officials.
“While we still have until midnight on March 3 to negotiate, the actions and negotiation tactics of the Strongsville Education Association (SEA) negotiation team as well as the menacing behavior of teachers at board member homes and the negotiation site lead us to believe that a strike is what the teachers’ union desires,” Frazee said in a news release on Wednesday.
Currently, there are no negotiations scheduled between the two parties. We will keep you posted if and when the teachers officially go on strike.
In what could be the next round in the dispute between the National Labor Relations Board and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the authority of the Board to act, the D.C. Circuit has requested the NLRB’s response to a Writ of Mandamus or Writ of Prohibition seeking to prohibit the Board from adjudicating unfair labor practice complaints until a lawful Board quorum exists. In the Noel Canning decision, Case No. 12-1115 (Jan. 25, 2013), the Court ruled that the Board currently lacks the requisite Board quorum because the appointments of members Sharon Block, Richard Griffin, and Terrence Flynn are unconstitutional and invalid.
In the instant case, In re Jeanette Geary, Case No. 13-1029, a nurse working at a unionized hospital with a union security clause, submitted a "Beck objection" to her union. After receiving an unsatisfactory response from the union regarding the use of her compulsory dues, Ms. Geary filed a charge with the NLRB, Case No. 01-CB-011135, alleging that the union was unlawfully using her dues for political activities. The Board agreed with Ms. Geary and filed a complaint which was heard by an administrative law judge. The administrative law judge dismissed most of the complaint and Ms. Geary filed exceptions with the Board. While pending, in January 2012, President Obama appointed members Block, Griffin, and Flynn to the Board to ensure compliance with Board quorum requirements defined by the Supreme Court’s decision in New Process Steel. In December 2012, the Board severed Ms. Geary’s case into two parts. It issued a decision in one part, United Nurses and Allied Professionals (Kent Hospital), 359 NLRB No. 42 (2012), finding in favor of the union; and retained the other portion for further consideration.
It is likely only a matter of time before the Supreme Court is compelled to take up the question of the constitutionality of the appointment of Block, Griffin, and Flynn to the Board. Until that time, however, it appears the dispute will continue to be played out between the NLRB and the D.C. Circuit in a variety of different forms.
Nova Southeastern Workers Approve SEIU Representation: Miriam Valverde of the Sun Sentinel reports that maintenance, cleaning, and landscape workers at Nova Southeastern University have voted to be represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The vote ends an approximately seven-year saga that included public protests and layoffs. Eric Brakken, Florida director of the SEIU, praised the ratification vote.
"I think it's a victory for the workers, I think it's a victory for the community," Brakken said. "It's going to help them move closer to the middle class and that's something we should all celebrate in South Florida."
The union-organizing campaign, as stated above, was often contentious. In 2008, the SEIU filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the University, alleging illegal interference with the workers' efforts to unionize.
NY City Council Takes Cablevision to Task: Joe Ryan of the Long Island Newsday reports that last night the New York City Council (NYCC) accused telecom giant Cablevision Corp. of engaging in "union-busting." In particular, the NYCC alleged that Cablevision's dismissal of 22 workers was in response to union-organizing efforts at its Bethpage facility.
"The company is engaging in textbook union busting," Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn) said during the hearing, which examined whether Cablevision violated labor provisions under an agreement allowing the company to install cable under city streets.
Cablevision's attorney countered Lander's assertion, responding that the 22 workers were not fired, but rather were permanently replaced after refusing to work. The dismissals are currently being investigated by the NLRB.
Twin Cities Security Contracts Walk Off the Job: Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune writes that about 2,000 SEIU-represented security contractors walked off the job in Minneapolis and St. Paul this morning. The security workers are primarily contracted out to Target, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank. SEIU officials said that the one-day strike came in response to failed emergency negotiations.
Those off the job Wednesday are doing so “to protect and strengthen the middle class through a fair contract for thousands of workers,” SEIU Local 26 said in a predawn statement on behalf of the 2,000 striking security officers.
Picketing is occurring in front of Wells Fargo in downtown Minneapolis. Further picketing is planned in various parts of the Metro for later today.
WA Judge Slaps Down Union Challenge to Seattle Development Plans: Kaitlin Ugolik of Law360 ($$) reports that last Friday, a Washington state judge granted summary judgment to the city of Seattle in its fight against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to move forward with a massive redevelopment project that could bring professional basketball back to the city. The ILWU had contended that the city's plan was subject to environmental review pursuant to an October 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (the MOU).
“This is a big win in our work to bring the Sonics home to Seattle,” Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said in a statement Friday.
ILWU attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment. The project is expected to cost almost a billion dollars and could also be the impetus for bringing professional hockey to the city.
Chamber Orchestra's Season at Risk as Contract Talks Resume: Marianne Combs of Minnesota Public Radio writes that the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) met with management officials all day yesterday in an attempt to finally solve their long-running contractual dispute. Critically, both sides want to get the musicians playing again before the concert season ends. However, they are currently at odds over how to make that happen. Management officials have proposed a "talk and play" structure, where the musicians would resume performances while contract negotiations continue. The SPCO has yet to agree to the proposal.
The three main sticking points are: pay, how to reduce the size of the SPCO from 34 to 28 positions, and the electronic media agreement, that is the use of SPCO performances online.
In another twist to this story, the American Federation of Music (AFM) has recently filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the SPCO. The AFM has alleged that SPCO leadership has not negotiated with the AFM in good faith over the dissemination of the SPCO's performances online.
Baseball Union Chief Discusses Increasing Drug Penalties: The Associated Press reports that Michael Weiner, the head of Major League Baseball's players' union (MLBPA), has stated that recent talks have centered around increasing penalties for positive player drug tests.
"There are certainly some players who have expressed that," Weiner said. "We've had discussions with the commissioner's office. If it turns out that we have a different penalty structure because that's what players are interested in, that's what the owners are interested in, it will be for 2014."
Weiner stressed that while MLB already has the most stringent drug penalties in American sports, players are still willing to make collective sacrifices in order to ensure that the game is played clean. Any changes to the current drug-testing regime must be approved by both the League and the Players' Union. We will keep you posted as talks continue.
D.R. Horton Ruling Takes Another Hit: Stewart Bishop of Law360 ($$) reports that a federal judge in the Southern District of New York ruled Friday that he would grant JPMorgan Chase Bank's (JPM) motion to compel arbitration, rejecting the plaintiff's claim that the arbitration clause she signed with the company was void in light of the National Labor Relations Board's controversial D.R. Horton ruling. Judge Vince Bricetti joined several other courts in holding that the National Labor Relations Act does not govern whether a prospective plaintiff can bring a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“The court finds the [arbitration agreement’s] class action waiver is fair, permits [Ryan] to vindicate her statutory rights under the FLSA, does not hinder her ability to recover attorney’s fees or costs and comports with public policy favoring arbitration and honoring private contracts,” the judge wrote.
Judge Bricetti's ruling is a further blow to the Board's attempt to limit class and collective-action waivers in the context of labor disputes. We here at @LRToday have been watching this issue since its inception and will keep you updated.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Security and Cleaning Workers Ready to Strike: Andy Greder of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press writes that security and cleaning contract workers in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN are ready to walk off the job as soon as tonight. The workers, numbering almost 2,500 strong, are contracted out to Target, Wells Fargo, and U.S Bank, among other locations, according to Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26.
"The fundamental thing that separates us is their unwillingness to talk," said Morillo, whose union was able to receive better hours, wages, job security and health care for the janitors.
Interestingly, the store cleaners are currently unrepresented, but are being assisted by the Center of Workers United in Struggle. The cleaners have unsuccessfully attempted to organize sporadically over the past three years. We will keep you posted as this situation unfolds.
IL State Workers Considering Whether to Strike: The Associated Press reports that Illinois state employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are considering whether a strike would be in their best interests as the most recent round of contract talks between their representatives and the state have stalled. The state of Illinois is currently facing a $96 billion deficit in its public-worker pension system. Negotiations are set to resume this week, but AFSCME leaders have warned that futility at the bargaining table could lead to a walk-out.
“People are getting to the point where they’re so angry and so frustrated that they think, what’s the use of sitting down with these folks every two or three weeks if nothing’s going to change?” [AFSCME Executive Director Henry] Bayer said.
State workers in Illinois have never struck since the inception of public-sector collective bargaining in the state in 1973. We will be watching these negotiations closely and will keep you informed of further developments.
Cleaning Crews at Target Stores Threaten to Strike: Josh Eidelson at The Nation writes that non-union janitors at Target stores in Minnesota are threatening to strike unless their employers agree to meet with them to discuss alleged unfair labor practices by Sunday at noon. The workers, employed by one of three contractors and working at Target stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging retaliation for attempting to organize.
“I guess I’d say I’m not scared,” Diversified employee and CTUL activist Alejandro Quirino told The Nation in Spanish. “Because I’m fed up and sick and tired of how they’ve treated us, and how our demands have been ignored. And that’s why I’m going to go on strike. If I get fired, I know I was fighting for what’s right, and putting in what I could to fight for what’s fair.”
A Target spokesperson declined comment, stating that any inquiries should be directed to the employees' actual employers, who happen to be outside contractors.
Board Rules Employee Fired For Discussing Salary Deserves Backpay: Matt Dunning of BusinessInsurance.com reports that Houston, TX-based Jones and Carter, an engineering firm, agreed to pay a former employee over $100,000 for firing her after she discussed her salary with other employees. The National Labor Relations Board had ruled a week prior that her conduct was protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act and that her discharge constituted an unfair labor practice.
According to court documents, Jones & Carter executives testified during an administrative hearing that Ms. Teare had been fired for “harassing” other employees about their salaries, and not merely discussing them. An administrative law judge ruled in Ms. Teare's favor on Nov. 26, 2012, declaring that the company's policy regarding salary discussions among employees constituted an unfair labor practice under federal law.
The Board affirmed the ALJ's ruling on February 8, 2013. While Jones and Carter offered to reinstate the employee, she has declined the offer of renewed employment.
UC Irvine Symposium to Discuss World Without Unions: Matt Coker of the OC Weekly writes that UC Irvine has kicked off a two-day symposium discussing the possibility of a post-union society. In particular, academics and labor lawyers from across the nation have been asked to consider viable alternatives to collective bargaining or improvements that could be made to the Wagner Act. UC Irvine described the panels as follows:
The panelists present a range of ideas and approaches to the challenge. They propose to increase the voice of workers without unions and to increase transparency about workplace standards; they describe and generalize from alliances between labor and environmental groups to change local law regarding independent contractor status; they propose reforms of immigration law, changes in the structure of bargaining and union elections and changes the legal rights and obligations of unions in right to work states.
The symposium promises to be a fascinating exercise for academics. However, it will be interesting to see whether any viable proposals come out of the two-day event. We will be following the developments and will keep you posted if any ideas of note come out of UC Irvine this weekend.
Texas Legislature Introduces Secret Ballot Bills: Jess Davis of Law360 ($$) reports that identical bills have been introduced in the Texas House and Senate that would require labor union elections to be conducted by secret ballot. Furthermore, a majority of those who would be affected by union representation would have to sign on in order to approve union representation, as opposed to the current rule that only requires a simple majority of those voting. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott heaped praise upon the legislation.
“By enhancing our existing protections for Texas workers and developing a Workers Bill of Rights, the initiatives announced today can help ensure that the state of Texas continues to be a national leader in job creation and economic prosperity,” Abbott said.
Labor leaders in the state decried the bill, saying it would have a negative impact on police and firefighters in particular. We here at @LRToday will keep you updated as this legislation moves forward.
MI Woman Files ULP Over Facebook Firing: Jonathan Lowe of WNEM.com reports that a woman in Saginaw, MI has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against her former employer after being fired for comments she posted on Facebook. While the exact details are unclear at the moment, it appears that the former employee had made several disparaging comments about her employer on the popular social-networking site. When management discovered her postings, she was discharged.
If this case moves forward and is prosecuted by AGC Lafe Solomon, it could provide more needed-guidance regarding the Board's social media policies, which at the moment are unclear to say the least. We will be watching this case closely as it develops.
Labor Group in CA Pushing Immigration Reform: Andrew Galvin of the Orange County Register writes that members of the Orange County Labor Federation (OCLF) rallied in front of Anaheim City Hall yesterday in an effort to help stir up support for comprehensive immigration reform. The OCLF, in particular, is pushing for a path to citizenship for America's more than 11 million undocumented workers.
Tefere Gebre, executive director of the Orange County Labor Federation, which organized the event, said labor representatives will be "visiting every congressional office multiple times," activating a "heavy letter writing campaign" and running phone banks in a "good old grass roots campaign to do the right thing."
The OCLF has indicated that the rally was not a "press conference," but instead marked the beginning of a long and loud campaign advocating for reforms.
In related news, members of the AFL-CIO have been meeting with U.S. Chamber of Commerce advocates in order to come to an agreement regarding temporary visas for low-skilled workers. Thus far, little progress has been made. As any change in immigration policy will have a ripple-effect through the world of labor law, we will be following this story closely.
St. Paul Orchestra Files Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against Management:Euan Kerr of Minnesota Public Radio reports that the American Federation of Musicians (AMF) has filed unfair labor practice charges against the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's (SPCO) management. In particular, the charges allege that SPCO management has failed to adequately respond to an AMF information request regarding SPCO works being published online.
"To understand their proposal we need to know what those recording are, we need to know who was involved in the making of those recordings, we need to know who the guest artists were, and we have been asking for that information since September," [AMF President Ray] Hair said.
SPCO management responded in kind, alleging that the AMF has thus far refused to negotiate the issue in good-faith. Moreover, the SPCO management team expects the Board to vindicate its position.
MI Panera Bakers Working to Unionize: E.B. Solomont of the St. Louis Business Journal reports that bakers at a Panera bread franchise in Michigan are fighting against their employer in an attempt to unionize. The bakers have been working towards collective representation by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (the Union) for over a year. Dan Wood, a baker leading the effort, had this to say:
“I don’t want to hurt the company,” Wood told the Huffington Post. “I just want us to be recognized for what we are: the engine. You can’t buy anything from a Panera that we don’t touch.”
Officials at Panera's headquarters have issued a statement, saying that the company's goal is to treat all workers with respect. We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
NYC Drivers' Strike Called Off By Union: The Associated Press reports that the New York City school bus drivers' strike, which began over a month ago and has left more than 150,000 students stranded, has been called off by the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1181. Regular service is expected to resume this morning.
Driver Philip Pan proudly displayed a hand-written "welcome back" card on the dashboard of his bus. Pan says he and the people he serves are "like a family."
The strike was purportedly abandoned because New York City's leading mayoral candidates have promised to address drivers' job security concerns if elected. Interestingly, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said previously that the drivers' requests for increased job protections were illegal under New York law.
Saline Plant Workers File Charges Against UAW: Ben Freed of AnnArbor.com reports that automotive workers at the Faurecia plant in Saline, MI have filed unfair labor practice charges against the United Auto Workers. In pertinent part, the complaint states as follows:
“The Union through its agents and representatives, has restrained and coerced employees of ACH by: 1. Since about October 1, 2012, misrepresenting to them the consequences of surrendering their ACH employment to take jobs with Devon Alpha Services; 2. On or about December 1, 2012, requiring ACH employees who accepted employment with DAS to execute membership applications and/or dues checkoff authorizations in order to collect their first paycheck with DAS.”
A spokesman for the UAW stated that the union was reviewing the charges and would not comment further.
Bozeman Nurses to Hit the Picket Lines: Lauren Maschmedt of NBCMontana.com reports that represented nurses at Bozeman Deaconness Hospital in Bozeman, MT are planning to picket this week to put pressure on the hospital during pivotal contract negotiations. The nurses, represented by the Montana Nurses Association (MNA), said their demands are simple.
"One of the issues that we really want to talk about is respect in the workplace" Johnson said. "We want some wording in our contract that would cover bullying and any intimidation."
Both sides, however, stress that the negotiations are happening in good faith and are working hard towards an amicable resolution. Further, the nurses have made it clear that they are not going on strike. New bargaining sessions are scheduled for this week.
VWR Employees Vote for Union Representation: The PR Newswire reports that workers at VWR in Visalia, CA have voted overwhelmingly in favor of representation by the Teamsters, Local 948. The now-unionized workers have expressed hope that collective bargaining will raise their wages up to industry standards.
"The State of California and the City of Visalia have invested millions in VWR to help the company build their new distribution center, but they didn't want to invest it back in their employees," said Rome Aloise, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7.
On Thursday, it was announced that American Airlines and US Airways had agreed to merge. Merger of the two airlines, if approved, would result in the world’s largest airline. Reaction from the various unions representing employees of the two airlines has been generally positive, although not entirely so.
For example, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), issued a press release stating optimistically:
ALPA will be watching this merger carefully because we represent pilots who fly more than 75 percent of express flying within the US Airways and American networks. We will work to ensure that our members are not negatively impacted during the merger process or by any subsequent agreements. And, in fact, they should benefit, as other stakeholders, in such a consolidation.
Involving all employees, including those in the wholly-owned express subsidiaries, is essential to a smooth and effective integration process. We encourage all parties affected by this merger to collaborate in building a strong carrier that will continue to move this industry and our profession forward.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), which represents flight attendants at US Airways, issued a press release demonstrating confidence that the merger was the right decision for the airlines and its represented flight attendants. It assured:
The merger between US Airways and American Airlines holds great opportunities for Flight Attendants. We will raise the bar for our profession and we look forward to working as key partners. . . .
As full partners in the world’s largest airline, we expect meaningful participation in its benefits. We look forward to working with our colleagues at American in improving wages, benefits, work rules and retirement security for ALL Flight Attendants at the new American.
Not all unions voiced words of optimism after the merger announcement. The International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) took advantage of the opportunity to criticize US Airways for delays in bargaining and to express fears that the merger will only add to those delays. Its press release quoted IAM District 141 President Rich Delaney as saying:
IAM members at US Airways need and deserve contracts now . . . The Machinists Union will not allow US Airways to stall our members’ contract negotiations while it devotes its attention to merging with American Airlines. The IAM is prepared to support this merger only if it provides real value to employees.
Although the merger is still subject to approval by government regulators, labor issues are likely to be a hot ticket item as the two airlines move forward with their plans. Hopefully, the general optimism of the affected unions will prove true and all parties will benefit from the joinder of the two airlines.
El Paso Nurses Choose NNOC as Bargaining Agent: Vic Kolenc of the El-Paso Times reports that nurses at Sierra Medical Center in El Paso, TX have voted to select the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) as their exclusive bargaining representative. The nurses voted Tuesday, with the union winning by about 40 votes (113-74). A Sierra spokesperson expressed her disappointment with the union's victory, but promised to negotiate in good faith with the newly-minted union.
"Sierra Medical Center believes what's best for employees and management is working together without the involvement of a third party," Garcia said. "It has always been our position that the hospital offers competitive wages and benefits, and management promotes a positive work environment."
A union spokeswoman, however, expressed her excitement with the victory, claiming that El Paso is now a "union town" for nurses.
NYC Accepting Driver Bids Even Though Strike Continues: Phil Corso of the Queens Times-Ledger reports that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) has begun the process of reviewing bids from several bus companies over the more than 1,100 bus routes that went out in late December, even though the city is still dealing with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) school bus drivers' strike, which is now almost a month old.
The city is hoping that the new round of bids would save millions of dollars in the long term because any new bids will not include driver job protections, which has become a major sticking point in negotiations between the city and the ATU. The union has asked the mayor to suspend bidding and put ATU employees back on the job.
“The mayor has the power to put our drivers and matrons back to work,” said Michael Cordiello, president of ATU Local 1181. “All we ask is that he suspend the bids and is willing to discuss ways to reduce costs within the school bus transportation industry, which the union has shown has nothing to do with keeping the most experienced school bus crews on the road.”
Workers Push Back Against Activist Union: Ira Kantor of the Boston Herald reports that workers at Complete Cleaning, Inc. in Lynn, MA have won a settlement after filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the Services Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 615. The complaint alleged that SEIU officials had attempted to claim a monopoly over Complete Cleaning employees' bargaining rights.
“Massachusetts needs a Right to Work law to make it less difficult for workers to keep predatory union bosses in check,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
The settlement also requires the SEIU to stop attempting to claim bargaining power until it can affirmatively show that it has the support of a majority of employees at Complete Cleaning.
Congress Reacts to President's Renominations of Block and Griffin: Yesterday, @LRToday reported that President Obama had resubmitted the nominations of Richard Griffin and Sharon Block, both Democrats, for positions on the National Labor Relations Board. The President's nominations have sparked varying reactions in Washington, according to Kevin Bogardus of The Hill.
Republican Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa), chair of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, stated that he was pleased with the nominations and also expressed hope that the President would nominate two Republicans to the Board as well.
Several House Republican leaders, including Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA), also sent the President a letter requesting that he nominate "four qualified individuals" to the Board so that it would have a Constitutionally-sound quorum.
This is most likely the beginning and not the end of the fight over Board nominations. We will be watching closely and will keep you abreast of any developments.
United, Union Reach Tentatively Deal on New CBA: David McAfee of Law360 ($$) reports that United Continental Holdings Inc., which includes both United and Continental Airlines, has reached a tentative deal with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that would cover over 30,000 employees.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work of the negotiating committee members in reaching these agreements,” Jon Roitman, senior vice president of airport operations for United, said Wednesday. “The agreements are an important part of working together to build the world's leading airline.”
The union also said that it would be briefing members on the terms of the proposed deal, with a vote to be conducted by mail soon after. We will keep you posted on the results.
Right To Work Bill Gaining Steam in Missouri: Elizabeth Crisp of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that legislation that would make Missouri the most recent Right-to-work state is moving forward in the legislature. Both the House and the Senate have held hearings on the issue, with standing-room-only crowds attending both sessions.
"I’ve seen a momentum building around the country, and I don’t think it’s an issue that Missourians or our Legislature can simply ignore or avoid,” said House Speaker Tim Jones, Republican from Eureka who has signed on as a co-sponsor of right-to-work legislation here. “It may be a multiyear process because this is the first time — in a long time — these issues have been debated with this much attention."
Several legislators remarked off the record that it would be difficult to push the bill through, even with Republican veto-proof majorities in both Houses. We will keep you updated as this legislation moves toward a probable vote.
NY High Court Decision Could Push Employers Toward Zero Tolerance: Pete Brush of Law360 ($$) reports that yesterday New York's highest court upheld an arbitration decision reinstating a unionized school bus driver who was fired after testing positive for marijuana. Experts believe that the court's decision could compel public employers to insert "zero tolerance" language regarding the use of illicit substances.
"Some districts do have zero tolerance policies," [the driver's attorney] said. “I'm sure this district will now try to negotiate with the union to get a zero tolerance policy. If it's a solid policy, negotiated with the union, then everyone is on the same page.”
A spokesperson for the school district stated that they were disappointed with the court's decision.
Nurses File ULP Alleging Secret Neutrality Agreement: TheSuburbanite reports that two Ohio nurses have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, complaining that an August vote to unionize nurses at Affinity Medical Center an Ohio was tainted. The nurses have alleged that the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) and Affinity engaged in a secret "neutrality agreement" wherein the two parties negotiated bargaining concessions at the expense of hospital employees. A spokesman for the NNOC lambasted the nurses' claims:
“The claims (the foundation) makes in that release are manufactured, wholly without merit and ludicrous,” Idelson said. “The notion that the company is aiding the nurse’s union is absurd on its face.”
The nurses are hoping that the court will not order Affinity to negotiate with the NNOC, because " the union lacks the true and uncoerced support of a majority of employees," according to the complaint.
KAISER Schedules Another Vote: The Press-Enterprise reports that almost 45,000 Kaiser Permanente employees in California will decide whether they will be represented collectively by a union in April, according to a National Labor Relations Board spokesperson.
The employees are deciding on whether to remain represented by the SEIU or to jettison their current union in favor of the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Of course, the employees could also vote to become unrepresented.
Bronx Car Wash Employees End Three-Month Strike: Jennifer Cunningham of the New York Daily News reports that car wash workers at Sunny Day Car Wash in the Bronx, NY, have returned to work after three months of striking. The workers walked off the job in early November after not receiving wages for several weeks.
“It feels so good to come back to work,” said Nelson Aquino, 27, who has worked drying off cars at Sunny Day for a year. “It feels really good - after all that was said - he had to give us back our jobs.”
National Labor Relations Board investigators are also looking into whether the striking employees are owed backpay because the owner actually fired them after they walked off the job. No one from Sunny Day Car Wash cared to comment on the proceedings.
New York Bus Drivers' Strike at Possible Breaking Point: Michael Benjamin of the New York Post writes that at noon today, the New York City Office of Pupil Transportation is set to open the bidding for the city's K-12 bus routes. While the bidding process is subject to the city's review process, servicing on the new contracts can start before the new school year begins.
The new bidding is particularly significant because several bus companies are not subject to union contracts and thus will be able to render more competitive bids. Assuming that unionized bus companies do not break their contracts with their workers, these unionized companies may not submit bids because they will not be competitive enough.
The bus drivers' strike, now in its fourth week, has been more than an aggravation for children and parents. Children with disabilities have been disproportionately affected and their current attendance rate continues to hover at about 20 percentage points below average. We have been following this story for some time and will keep you posted as it inches towards a resolution.
NFL Players' Union Pushing for Overhaul of Player Care: Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today writes that the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA), led by executive director DeMaurice Smith, is pushing hard for the National Football League (NFL) to overhaul its current system as it relates to player health. During Super Bowl week, Smith specifically targeted San Diego Chargers doctor David Chao, who allegedly has "committed repeated negligent acts in his care and treatment" of patients. An independent review board found no basis for a complaint, but the Players' Union isn't satisfied.
"The concerns we have about Dr. Chao remain," NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told USA TODAY Sports in a statement Monday. "The fact is that despite having previous malpractice liability (awards) against him, neither the Chargers nor the NFL initiated an inquiry or provided any oversight of the doctor the team selected to provide care for our players."
Unfortunately for the players, independent authorities see no reason why the NFL won't continue with business as usual as far as player safety is concerned.
"Honestly there's no reason why (team management) should care," said Andrew Blecher, a California doctor who specializes in sports medicine. "They want a team doctor who is going to do what they want. If the comfort level works with them, they don't want some new guy coming in who's going to change everything around."
Striking Bus Drivers Rally at City Hall: NY1 News reports that over 1,000 New York City school bus drivers and matrons assembled in front of City Hall yesterday afternoon, calling on Mayor Bloomberg's office to become involved in the now four-week old strike.
"We're here today for our job protection, our job security. This is what we need," said a member of ATU Local 1181. "We've been having it for 33 years. We need this. If not, we won't have a job."
Union members first began picketing almost a month ago to demand job protection language in any new labor deal. However, the city has maintained that such job protection language is illegal and has further called for the drivers to negotiate directly with the private companies that hire them.
Saginaw Police Negotiations at Impasse: Mark Tower of MLive reports that negotiations between the city of Saginaw and the local Police Officer's union over a new contract have broken down. City staff have told local media that there are no new meetings scheduled between the two parties. However, leaders in neighboring cities have encouraged the parties to get back to the table.
"Get the unions involved," [Pontiac Mayor Leon] Jukowski said. "It's going to be much easier if this is something that is negotiated."
The talks began last year in an effort to close a $3.2 million budget shortfall before July, 2013. We will keep you posted as the situation develops further.
More and More Unions Popping Up at Charter Schools: AFT News writes that three new unions have won recognition at charter schools in New York State, Los Angeles, and Detroit. The Detroit election occurred on February 7, 2013, and was the first union victory since the National Labor Relations Board ruled that charter schools should be considered private-sector employers for the purpose of collective bargaining.
The ballot outcome of the Feb. 7 election was 88 for the union, 39 opposed. Said Becky Wilinski, a middle school social studies teacher at Chavez Academy, "We are reminding Gov. Snyder that workers in Michigan still have the right to say 'union, yes!'"
The New York and Los Angeles unions received voluntary recognition after administrators received union petitions at both schools. This recent spate of union victories at charter schools across the country may be a sign of things to come in the wake of the Board's December ruling. We at @LRToday will certainly keep you posted.
FAR Subpart 22.12 requires successor service contractors and subcontractors (whose contracts are above the simplified acquisition threshold) to offer “service employees,” who were employed under predecessor contracts, “a right of first refusal of employment” when the successor contract is for the “same or similar service[s]” and at the “same location” as the predecessor contract. As we outlined in our recent client advisory, service contractors and subcontractors must carefully review this regulation to understand its impact on hiring processes, especially in light of the ambiguities, loopholes, and strong enforcement provisions contained in the regulation. For example, FAR Subpart 22.12 does not define the phrase “same location,” leaving it open to various interpretations: the “same location” could be limited to the same building or expanded to include all services performed in the same city. As one can imagine, such interpretations could dramatically affect the reach of this regulation. On the enforcement side, this regulation allows the contracting officer to suspend payment on a contract or suspend or debar a contractor, in certain instances. Further, disputes arising from FAR Subpart 22.12 will not be subject to the Contract Disputes Act; they will be resolved in accordance with Department of Labor procedures set forth at 29 C.F.R. part 9.
In a client advisory and blog post published when President Obama issued E.O. 13495, we observed the potential labor relations impact of the Order:
The Order expressly states that it is intended to promote “economy and efficiency” by “reduc[ing] disruption” to services and ensuring “an experienced and trained work force.” Pursuant to labor law “successorship” principles, however, the Order will also have the effect of securing the continued recognition of the predecessor’s union representative and preventing the successor from unilaterally setting initial terms of employment. Under well-settled law, unless it is "perfectly clear" that a new employer intends to hire all of a predecessor’s employees, the new employer is free to set the initial terms and conditions of employment. However, where it is “perfectly clear” that all prior union-represented employees will be retained, the successor must maintain the pre-existing wages and benefits for those employees while bargaining with the union over terms and conditions of employment.
Service contractors should continue to act carefully and make calculated decisions when considering taking over for incumbent contractors. We, and our friends at the Government Contracts Advisor, will continue to monitor legislative and regulatory activities in this area.
Bozeman Nurses File ULP Charges Against Hospital: Jodi Hausen of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that the Montana Nurses Association (the union) has filed unfair labor practice charges against Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. The complaint alleges that the Hospital has refused to bargain with the union and has also refused to allow a union representative to sit in on meetings between nurses and supervisors.
The union and the Hospital have been in tense negotiations over a new contract since October. Last December, the union voted down the Hospital's proposal by a large margin. The nurses allege that the Hospital has since retaliated by conducting various unfair labor practices.
“Unfortunately, the hospital recently changed how they interact with the nurses and our union after the collective bargaining agreement expired,” union representatives wrote in a letter to Terry Cunningham, chair of the hospital’s board of trustees. “Our relationship with hospital administration is becoming strained.”
Board Issues Complaint Against FirstEnergy: Pam Kasey of WBOY reports that the National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against FirstEnergy's Harrison Power Station in West Virginia. The Board's complaint alleges that FirstEnergy imposed unilateral changes in employees' health care and benefits without first bargaining with the Utility Workers Union of America. A spokesman for FirstEnergy said the company was currently reviewing the charges. Currently, a hearing is set for the end of March in Fairmont, WV.
Head of NBA Players Union Out?: Howard Beck of the New York Times has published an interview with Billy Hunter, the current head of the N.B.A. Players Union. Hunter claims that he received an unsigned letter last week informing him that he was being put on indefinite paid leave, effective immediately.
“I haven’t spoken to anybody since,” Hunter said Wednesday, in his first interview since the Jan. 17 release of an independent audit that faulted his business and hiring practices.
Hunter claims to be owed over $10million on the remainder of his contract, which he intends to pursue if he is terminated. However, if Hunter is terminated, the Players Union is expected to challenge Hunter's right to that money since his initial election was not conducted in accordance with the Union's bylaws.
The Players Union is expected to determine Hunter's fate during the All-Star Game weekend meeting on February 16, 2013. We will keep you posted as the situation develops further.
Class Waiver Ban Comes Before 5th Circuit: Abigail Rubenstein of Law360 ($$) reports that the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit entertained arguments yesterday as to whether employees can be required to sign arbitration agreements waiving their ability to bring class claims. Attorneys for petitioner D.R. Horton argued that the 5th Circuit should join a myriad of other courts that have rejected the National Labor Relations Board's ruling that employees have a right under federal labor law to bring class action claims.
“The intellectual gymnastics from the NLRB in avoiding the clear precedent from the Supreme Court in some instances and completely ignoring it in others flaunts that Supreme Court authority and cannot stand,” [Mr.] Chapman, [attorney for D.R. Horton] told the court.
The Board, however, argued that the whole point of labor law under the National Labor Relations Act is to allow for the pursuit of protected and concerted activity. Allowing employers to compel employees to sign class action waivers, the Board contended, would effectively gut the employees' ability to act for their mutual aid and protection.
Interestingly, at the suggestion of the Judge, neither side made much of the D.C. Circuit's ruling in Noel Canning, which invalidated President Obama's recess appointments to the Board. We will be watching this decision closely.
Van Drivers Protest Labor Conditions in Palm Beach: Lona O'Connor of the Palm Beach Post reports that a group of van drivers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) protested outside of the headquarters of Metro Mobility Management (Metro) in response to what they deem to be unfair labor conditions. Specifically, the drivers are complaining of low pay, 12-hour shifts, and difficult schedules.
Metro and the ATU have had run-ins in the past. In 2008, after the ATU won a certification vote to represent the van drivers, Metro refused to bargain with the union, which violated the National Labor Relations Act.
Meanwhile, complaints of bad service have hounded Metro for years. The county commission is set to decide whether to renew Metro's contract. We will keep you posted as the situation develops.
Chamber President Weighs in On Recess Appointment Debacle: Politico has published on op-ed written by Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue addressing the fallout over the D.C. Circuit's invalidation of President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. Donohue posits, with all of the uncertainty surrounding the current state of labor law, what could possibly happen next for regulated businesses.
Those regulated by the NLRB now face a host of difficult questions: Are the NLRB’s orders currently valid? Will they be invalidated in the future? Can a company reopen a case that has already been decided against it? Does a company need to raise a challenge to the recess appointments in its own case? What will happen if the NLRB sues to enforce an order outside of the D.C. Circuit? Should a company rush to file an appeal in the D.C. Circuit? Can a company wait to see what happens in the Supreme Court, or must it comply with an NLRB order now?
Donohue raises some great points that employers may want to consider. However, he also notes that as of now, it's business as usual at the Board, according to Chairman Pearce. We will keep you posted on any and all recess-appointment developments.
It was going to be hard to top 2011 in terms of unique and dynamic labor law developments. But 2012 may just have lived up to the task.
Seeking to ensure that the Board would have a quorum to operate during the year, on January 4, 2012, President Obama attempted the "recess" appointment of three members. Despite the controversy swirling about these appointments, the Board continued apace to expand the rights of employees and unions under the National Labor Relations Act. Among the more notable results were the invalidation of class waivers and mandatory arbitration agreements; the further diminution of the facility-wide presumption in organizing cases; and a number of decisions tilting the balance in collective-bargaining negotiations. At the same time, the Acting General Counsel continued to pursue an expansive agenda -- issuing numerous new complaints and explanatory memoranda in social media cases.
The courts, however, dealt the Board a series of blows throughout the year, dismissing the Board's challenge to Arizona's secret ballot amendment; and invalidating the Board's rule-making on required notice-posting and "quickie elections". But no court action carried as much import as the January 2013 Noel Canning decision by the Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. which declared the President's "recess" appointments unconstitutional, and found that the Board lacked a quorum to act throughout 2012.
The labor attorneys here at Labor Relations Today have been following these significant developments every step of the way. Today we are publishing "Labor Law in 2012: A Year in Review." This brief summary highlights some of the most noteworthy developments in 2012. We hope you find it a helpful resource as we head into what is certain to be one of the most interesting years in labor law in some time.
Justice Ginsburg Denies HealthBridge's Injunction Request: Sindhu Sundar of Law360 ($$) reports that Justice Ginsburg has denied HealthBridge Management LLC's request to stop a partial injunction that would require the company to reinstate striking workers. HealthBridge argued that the recent D.C. Circuit ruling invalidating President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board should delay the injunction until the whole mess is sorted out.
“It makes little sense for the courts to order immediate action at the behest of the board here when the board’s ability to act is in profound doubt and will be addressed by this court,” HealthBridge argued.
The row stems from a dispute between the company and the New England Health Care Employees Union, which represents HealthBridge employees at several facilities in Connecticut. Over 600 workers have been on strike since July, when the most recent round of contract talks broke down.
HealthBridge's attorneys said that they were reviewing Justice Ginsburg's denial and were most likely planning on re-petitioning another Justice for review, which is allowed under Supreme Court rules. We will be watching this issue closely and will keep you up to date.
ULP Charges Going Ahead Despite Claims of Union Malfeasance: Tarryl Jackson of MLive reports that a long-simmering labor dispute between Hendrickson Trucking and Jackson's Teamster Local 164 is headed for review to the National Labor Relations Board. The charges remain active despite several allegations of financial improprieties committed by union officials.
Recently, it was discovered that Al Sprague, local president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, had been collecting state unemployment checks. Furthermore, local secretary and treasurer William Bernard alleges that he is owed over $100,000 in unused vacation pay, despite the fact that the local's assets are less than half that amount. A spokesman for the union said that it would not comment on internal investigations.
Coastal Ports and Longshoremen Reach Deal in Principal: Larry Swisher of Bloomberg BNA ($$) reports that the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have agreed in principal to a six-year contract that would govern relations between the employer and over 15,000 dock workers. However, the agreement is still subject to ratification by ILA members. Further, 14 local port agreements must be negotiated before the master contract can be finalized.
The two sides were brought back to the bargaining table in December after a bi-partisan coalition urged President Obama to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act. Doing so kept the parties' discussions moving forward and also avoided a potential copycat scenario of the Los Angeles Port strikes, which were short, but economically devastating.
We will continue to follow the local port negotiations and will report back when the contracts are completely ratified.
Reuters reports California-based Prime Healthcare Services has advised the SEIU that it will not comply with at least two National Labor Relations Board rulings from the past year following the recent Noel Canning decision.
As one might imagine, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, takes exception. One union lawyer colorfully criticized the employer's position:
"The employers' side is giving the finger to the NLRB and the National Labor Relations Act," the lawyer, Bruce Harland, said in an interview. "It's not well thought out, it's just an in-your-face, brazen, ‘We're not going to comply with this.'"
Union Settles With Board Over Wal-mart Protests: Bill Donahue of Law360 ($$) reports that the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (the UFCW) has settled a complaint filed against it by Wal-mart relating to last year's Black Friday protests. Under the terms of the agreement, the UFCW agreed to suspend all picketing for sixty days. Further, "Our Wal-mart", a subsidiary of the UFCW, agreed not to attempt to further organize Wal-mart workers.
“Our Wal-Mart is an organization of Wal-Mart workers from across the country who, along with many supporting organizations, calling on Wal-Mart to improve labor rights and standards for its employees,” the union said in letter outlining its commitments. “Our Walmart has no intent to have Wal-Mart recognize or bargain with it as a representative of Wal-Mart employees.”
A spokesman for the National Labor Relations Board was pleased that the case settled, but noted that proceedings would remain open in order to ensure compliance with the terms of the settlement.
Vegas Cab Company, Drivers Reach Impasse in Negotiations: The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Yellow Checker Star Corporation, Las Vegas' second-biggest cab company, has imposed its last best offer on the city's cab drivers. The drivers, represented by the Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union, did not substantively respond other than to state that they were in the process of weighing their options.
The new contractual terms are scheduled to go into effect on Sunday. Drivers will receive more unpaid leave days, as well as increased pension contributions. Further, the drivers' bonus pools will also be increased.
NFLPA Head Says Player Safety Top Priority: Steve Ginsburg at Reuters reports that the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA) has stated that it has a number of issues it wishes to address with the NFL regarding player safety. NFLPA President DeMaurice Smith, in announcing a $100 million grant to Harvard University, said that the players are demanding that the NFL create the position of "chief safety officer" that would be tasked with overseeing league safety protocols.
"If we ... see eight, 10, 12 players who have suffered a concussive event on the sideline and we know that the sideline concussion protocol takes at least seven minutes, if we then see that player put back in the game 45 seconds later, we know that the sideline doctors have failed to employ the very protocol that we agreed to use," he said.
Smith also demanded that the league perform background checks on its medical personnel to determine whether they have ever been subjected to malpractice litigation, but so far the league has resisted.
"It is time for us to seriously contemplate what are our players rights at work," said Smith. "I believe our players are entitled to the best medical care in the country.
The league and the Players' Union signed a new collective bargaining agreement in the fall of 2011, which averted a potential season-ending shutdown. The union is hoping that its new proposals will be inserted into the CBA as amendments. We will keep you posted as these issues move forward.
A Different Take on the Hostess Bankruptcy: Megan McArdle of the Daily Beast published a thought-provoking piece on Tuesday regarding the recent Hostess bankruptcy. McArdle posits that the Baker's Union, derided in the press for their "unreasonably demands," has actually put together a brilliant negotiating strategy. Instead of fighting with Hostess, the Baker's Union essentially forced Hostess into bankruptcy in order to blow up the Teamsters' contract and start from scratch. Holman Jenkins of the Wall Street Journal explains the issue as follows:
Under the latest turnaround plan, the sticking point was Hostess's distribution operations, source of the Hostess horror stories filling the media. Union-imposed work rules stopped drivers from helping to load their trucks. A separate worker, arriving at the store in a separate vehicle, had to be employed to shift goods from a storage area to a retailer's shelf. Wonder Bread and Twinkies couldn't ride on the same truck.
Essentially, massive inefficiencies in the Teamsters' contract, not the Baker's contract, forced Hostess out of business. The company is currently close to selling off its Twinkie brand to an investment firm. Perhaps a new deal for the Bakers will follow. We will keep you posted.
Sen. Barrasso Moves to Kill 2012 Board Decisions: Fox News reports that Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) has introduced legislation that would effectively hit the reset button and overturn all National Labor Relations Board decisions made in the last year. Sen. Barrasso's bill comes in the wake of last week's Noel Canning ruling that held that the Board did not have enough members to constitute a quorum because President Obama's recess appointments were constitutionally unsound.
“Until we have a final resolution from the courts, the NLRB should not be able to issue or enforce decisions that will create even more confusion and illegitimate regulations,” Barrasso, R-WY, said. “My bill will restore clarity, order and respect for the U.S. Constitution.”
Sen. Barrasso's bill faces an uphill battle in the Democratically-controlled Senate. Further, President Obama is expected to appeal the Noel Canning ruling to either the full D.C. Circuit or to the Supreme Court.
Cafeteria Workers file ULP Charges Alleging Union Animus: Kevin Penton of the Asbury Park Press reports that school cafeteria workers in Neptune, NY have filed unfair labor practice charges against New York's Chartwells. The complaint alleges that Chartwells retaliated against employees after they tried to unionize last year.
The 45 employees filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that New York’s Chartwells threatened them with job losses, tightened its enforcement of work rules, created the impression that workers were being watched and imposed more onerous work conditions, according to the case’s file.
Chartwells denied the allegations in a statement, saying that the company respects the workers' right to choose to join or not join a union as they see fit. We will keep you posted as this case moves forward.
Philly Firefighters Allege CBA Violation in Lawsuit: Ama Sarfo of Law360 ($$) reports that Philadelphia firefighters, Local 22 filed a lawsuit against the city last Friday alleging breach of the collective bargaining agreement governing the parties' relationship. The Union complains that the city failed to provide adequate notice of the upcoming fire battalion chief exams and four candidates missed the chance to seek a promotion as a result.
“Local 22 and its bargaining unit members are offended by the city’s outright repudiation of its agreement and related practice, which demonstrates and reinforces the city’s unqualified contempt and disrespect for the union as an employee organization, and the rights and interests of its affected members,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit is seeking an injunction that would prevent the city of Philadelphia from proceeding with the exam in dispute. The city was asked for comment, but a spokesman said it was the city's policy not to comment on pending litigation.
Sen. Johanns Calls on Board Members to Resign: The Norfolk Daily News reports that Senator Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican, has called on Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, the two National Labor Relations Board members appointed under President Obama's now-invalidated recess appointments, to resign. Sen. Johanns has also written a letter to the Government Accountability Office in an attempt to unwind all new regulations that the Board has promulgated since the appointments were rendered.
"This isn’t about politics or the qualifications of the individuals involved,” Johanns said. “It’s about upholding the checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution. The only way to lift this cloud is for these appointees to immediately resign the posts they have unconstitutionally held for more than a year.”
The fallout from last Friday's ruling, discussed in blog posts below, will continue in the following weeks and months as the mess is sorted out. We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
Bus Drivers and Company Officials Plan to Meet: NY1 News reports that representatives of the striking New York City school bus drivers and company officials are set to meet today at Gracie Mansion in an attempt to settle the drivers' strike. The strike is beginning its' third week and has affected over 150,000 students who rely on public transportation to get to school. The talks are not expected to be productive, however, because the Union has insisted that the strike will continue until the city provides the drivers with greater job protections. The city, in turn, has responded by stating that such job protections would be illegal.
The National Labor Relations Board held a hearing last week to determine the validity of the drivers' strike. A ruling is expected in the coming days. We will certainly keep you posted as the case develops.
The D.C. Circuit Court today reaffirmed that the Constitution is not an inconvenience but the law of the land, agreeing with the owners of a family-owned business who brought the case to the Court...
We strongly disagree with the court’s reasoning and decision. We fully expect this radical decision to be reversed, and that other courts addressing this issue will uphold the President’s recess appointment authority. In the meantime, the appointees to the National Labor Relations Board remain in their jobs and the NLRB remains open for business.
The rights protected by this agency are too important for the agency to have to operate under a legal cloud. We urge the Senate to promptly confirm a package of nominees to the NLRB.
Former Head of SEIU Allegedly Embezzled Dues: Ciaran McEvoy of Law360 ($$) writes that a federal prosecutor in California told jurors in the trial of former Service Employees International Union (SEIU) chief Tyrone Ricky Freeman that Freeman had embezzled union-members' dues by taking trips and committing other fraudulent acts. Freeman, indicted in July of 2012, is charged with 14 criminal counts, including mail fraud, making false statements, and embezzlement. Freeman's lawyer urged the jury in his closing statement to find reasonable doubt.
“There's not remotely enough [evidence] here to conclude that Mr. Freeman embezzled union funds beyond a reasonable doubt,” [Mr.] Kramer said, adding that Freeman was entitled to an acquittal if he acted in good faith while spending the money as Local 6434 president.
Freeman's wife, Pilar Planells-Freeman, has already pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of failure to file an income tax return and was sentenced to three-years' probation.
Union Membership at 70-Year Low: Tom Tillison of the BizPac Review writes that despite a pro-Union president and a very pro-labor National Labor Relations Board, union membership has reached a 70-year low. Citing a Detroit News study, Tillison reports that unions have lost 400,000 members in the past year. The current percentage of U.S. workers in a union is down to 11.3%, which is the lowest level since the 1930s.
Union Officials Pushing Bloomberg to Negotiate With Striking Bus Drivers: Lindsey Christ of NY1 reports that elected officials and union advocates held a demonstration near New York City Hall yesterday, demanding that Mayor Michael Bloomberg meet with officials representing New York City's school bus drivers in order to settle the current drivers' strike. The Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1181 has been on strike since last Wednesday and is currently holding picket lines in various locations across the five boroughs.
"We're conducting a civil strike," said Jimmy Hedge of the executive board of Local 1181. "We move away from the driveways when the buses move out. They're told, 'Please do not get arrested, please do not do anything that you're going to be sorry for later, or make us look bad in the long run.'"
The National Labor Relations Board is also currently hearing arguments related to the strike and could enter an injunction to end the labor dispute and put drivers back to work. We will keep you posted as this case develops further.
Wisconsin Bargaining Law Upheld by 7th Circuit: Michael Bologna of Bloomberg BNA ($$) reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld Wisconsin's 2011 law limiting collective bargaining rights of the majority of public sector workers. In so doing, the Court reversed an earlier District Court ruling invalidating the law. The Seventh Circuit held, contrary to the District Court, that the law did not violate the equal protection clause even though the law strips collective bargaining rights for public workers, but not public safety employees. Governor Scott Walker trumpeted the ruling.
“Today's court ruling is a victory for Wisconsin taxpayers,’’ Walker commented in a statement. “The provisions contained in Act 10, which have been upheld in federal court, were vital in balancing Wisconsin's $3.6 billion budget deficit without increasing taxes, without massive public employee layoffs, and without cuts to programs like Medicaid.’’
Representatives of AFSCME also released a statement expressing their disappointment with the Court's ruling. However, this is not the end of the road because two additional suits challenging the law on other grounds are pending. We will certainly keep you posted as to any updates.
Forbes Magazine Examines Board Social Media Policies: Susan Adams of Forbes Online has published an interesting analysis of recent National Labor Relations Board decisions regarding social media policies. Answering the question, "When Is It OK to Diss Your Boss Online," Adams discusses that while the most recent Board rulings seem to include most statements by employees as "protected and concerted activities," those statements cannot be gripes that only affect the single employee. While the Board offers broad protections to employees, some commentators advise against making such posting regardless.
“Even if it’s technically protected by the NLRA, it’s not going to make your boss like you or smooth your road at work when the company learns about this.”
The case law in this area is new and is continuing to evolve as the full Board makes further decisions regarding social media in the workplace.
Nurses Protest in Vallejo, CA: Rachel Raskin-Zrihen of the San Jose Mercury News reports that registered nurses at Sutter Solano in Vallejo, California protested outside of Sutter's facility Tuesday. The protests were aimed at Sutter officials who allegedly threatened disciplinary action against striking nurses.
"Nurses, united, can never be defeated!" they shouted. Two speakers suggested that because nurses are predominantly women, management sees them as "expendable," and treat them accordingly. Hospital officials denied such claims.
Union officials have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and have also filed grievances against Sutter Solano. We will keep you posted as this dispute unfolds.
FSI Settles Board Complaint: Kristina Smith at the News-Messenger reports that the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75 (UFCW) has settled with FSI after filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board last summer. The complaint alleged that an FSI employee was suspended and ultimately discharged for engaging in union organizing activities. FSI issued a written statement, denying that the settlement was an admission of guilt.
“Companies settle these issues daily for myriads of reasons,” he said. “It did not make sense for us financially to pursue the matter any longer while Tyler Keathley was receiving free legal counsel.”
FSI also denied allegations of unlawful interrogation that sprang from the Board complaints. The discharged employee could not be reached for comment.
NYC Bus Drivers' Strike Greatly Affecting Disabled Students: Rachel Monahan, Corinne Lestch, and Richard Shapiro of the New York Daily News report that disabled students have been disproportionately affected by the New York City bus drivers' decision to walk off the job. Many disabled students depend on receiving various forms of therapy at school and are unable to get there via alternative means. One student's mother voiced the following complaint.
“I can’t take him on the subway because there are no elevators, and I can’t take a cab because his wheelchair doesn’t fold up,” groused Carmen Padilla, whose 18-year-old son is a paraplegic suffering from cerebral palsy.
The City reports that almost a third of disabled students were unable to make it to class Tuesday, while a full half of disabled students did not attend classes Wednesday. A complaint has been filed against the bus drivers with the National Labor Relations Board. A ruling is expected today.
AGC Solomon Interviewed by HR Magazine: HR Professionals Magazine has published an interview with National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon. In the interview, AGC Solomon covers territory ranging from the current makeup of the Board to current union trends. It is certainly an interesting read.
Should Charter Schools be Treated as Private Entities?: Adam Emerson of the Fordham Institute has published an interesting article outlining whether it is really appropriate for the National Labor Relations Board to treat Charter Schools as private schools subject to federal labor regulations. Recently, the Board held that the Chicago Mathematics and Science Academy was essentially a private entity and was subject to the Board's jurisdiction. The State of Illinois had argued that the Academy was, for all intents and purposes, a public entity and could be regulated under state law.
You can’t have it both ways—and there is no third option (even if American society might benefit from such a thing). You cannot, on the one hand, argue that charter schools are not governmental subdivisions for purposes of escaping hostile state labor laws and sundry public regulations and then turn around and urge the IRS to stick with its assumption that charters are “agencies or instrumentalities of the state” to assure that charter employees can benefit from government retirement plans.
While the Board's decision was limited to one school in Chicago, this case could have major implications regarding charter schools in general. We will certainly keep you posted as this issue will certainly come up again as teachers continue to organize.
Need for Cost Controls at Nation's Ports Causing Labor Disputes: Ernest Scheyder at Reuters reports that the recent increase in labor disputes at various ports across the country has resulted from the need for employers to cut costs and reduce their workforce. U.S. productivity levels lag badly behind those of other countries, with Scheyder projecting that it takes 20 U.S. workers to do the work of 5 or fewer workers in other parts of the world.
"Everyone wants to reduce their cost and that means lower wages or fewer people," said a senior executive at a major West Coast container terminal operator who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to affect future negotiations with labor unions.
Earlier this year, dock workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach struck for 8 days. While the actual work-stoppage was relatively short, its ripple-effect across the economy cost several billion dollars. Employers are looking to increase productivity, while dock workers are striving for increased benefits. We will be following these issues as they develop further.
School Bus Drivers' Strike Continues: NY1 news reports that the New York City school bus drivers' strike has entered a second day. Neither side has made any indication that they are willing to budge, and no talks are currently scheduled. The Mayor's office has reported that school attendance was slightly below average yesterday. However, among special needs children, attendance was down almost 30 percent.
The bus companies are in the process of hiring replacement drivers and have also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in an attempt to end the work-stoppage. Mayor Bloomberg's office stated that the Mayor hoped the strike would end soon and that the city could not meet the union's demands for increased job protections because doing so would be illegal.
Workforce Fairness Institute Calls for Member Griffin to Step Down: Dave Boyer of the Washington Times reports that the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) has called for National Labor Relations Board Member Richard Griffin to resign from his post due to being named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging union corruption. Prior to being named to the Board by President Obama, Member Griffin was employed as the general counsel of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). Fred Wszolek, a spokesman for the WFI, had this to say:
"The recent complaint that names him as a defendant and details his role in an embezzlement scheme clearly makes him unsuited to serve as an unbiased arbiter deciding matters that significantly impact American workers and small businesses."
A Board spokesman declined comment, but Member Griffin's attorney has called the allegations "frivolous." We will certainly keep you posted as the case develops.
NYC Bus Drivers on Strike, Stranding Hundred Thousand Students: Lindsey Christ of NY1 reports that New York City school bus drivers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) have walked off the job and are officially on strike. The drivers are demanding increased job protections from the City of New York.
“We’ve tried every option to avoid a strike, but our members feel that their back is to a wall and they must take a stand on this issue," Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 President Michael Cordiello said.
The move to strike effectively strands 150,000 students, forcing parents to make alternative arrangements. So far, schools have been handing out free Metro Cards, while the bus companies have been searching for replacement workers. The bus companies also have stated that they intend to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in an effort to end the strike.
Unions Allege Workers at Corinthian Contractors Being Underpaid: Patricia Sullivan of the Washington Post reports that more than a dozen labor unions protested outside the Arlington, VA office of Corinthian Contractors, alleging that workers are not being paid federally required wages under the Davis-Bacon Act. The company, in a written statement, responded by arguing that the firm pays "at or above the prevailing wage on all federal contracts."
The issue had already been brought to the attention of the National Labor Relations Board, which dismissed the claims as baseless. D.C. Water, who brought Corinthian Contractors onto the project, has also investigated the allegations and has found the company to be in compliance.
Retail Groups File Brief With Board Arguing Against "Micro-Unions": Stewart Bishop of Law360 ($$) reports that two retail groups have filed a brief with the National Labor Relations Board in support of a challenge by Macy's, Inc. to a Board Regional Director's recognition of a "micro-union" at one of its Massachusetts stores. The Retail Industry Leaders' Association (RILA) and the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) argue that the NLRB should return to its former presumption favoring whole-store collective bargaining units.
Such a change in favor of micro-unions “would serve to balkanize the structure of the employer’s business, adversely affecting amici’s members and their businesses, complicating labor relations and collective bargaining, threatening to embroil customers and other members of the public in labor disputes, and building in delay and increased costs in the board’s currently fair and efficient representation process,” the brief said.
A retail store composed of multiple independent bargaining units would have an adverse effect on morale, as well as on business, the parties continued. Further, it would arguably undermine the Board's preference for "stable labor conditions."
Case Against Hyatt Regency Goes to Hearing: Jamie Smith Hopkins of the Baltimore Sun reports that the NLRB has begun making its case against the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, alleging multiple unfair labor practices in response to a union organizing campaign. The complaint, filed last November, contends that the hotel began interrogating employees and "invoking harsh discipline" upon learning of the potential organizing campaign.
"It's a classic nip-in-the-bud case," said Sean R. Marshall, a senior trial attorney for the board.
However, the hotel said in a statement that it believed it would ultimately prevail over the charges. We will certainly keep you updated as the case moves forward.
Union States School Bus Drivers Strike to Begin Tomorrow: Courtney Gross of NY1 reports that the President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 (ATU) has stated that New York City school bus drivers will go on strike as of Wednesday morning. The strikers are demanding that the City include certain employee protection clauses in its contracts with bus drivers. Mayor Bloomberg released a statement of his own upon learning of the ATU's decision to strike.
"The union is abandoning 152,000 students and their families who rely on school bus service each day. We hope that the union will reconsider its irresponsible and misguided decision to jeopardize our students' education."
Fortunately for parents and students, the City has come up with a contingency plan. Metro Cards will be distributed to regular bus riders during the school day, which will hopefully result in minimal disruption for the students and the schools. Parents and students, however, are somewhat skeptical.
"If we can't go on the school bus, how are we going to get to school?" asked a student.
We here at @LRToday have been following this story closely and will keep you updated as it unfolds further.
Pacific Beach Hotel, Workers Reach Deal to End 10 Years of Labor Unrest: Howard Dicus of Hawaii News Now reports management officials at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Honolulu, HI and its workers have reached an agreement to end 10 years of labor strife. The contract, which the ILWU stated was ratified by 99 percent of workers, is for four years and guarantees a 13% raise for employees over the term of the agreement. The negotiations were often tense, with union officials filing unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board on several occasions.
"We thank the many people and organizations from Hawaii and around the world who came forward to support this struggle," said ILWU International Vice President Wesley Furtado in a statement.
Worries Over Potential School Bus Drivers' Strike in NYC: NY1 news reports that parents of school-aged children in New York City are gearing up for a potential school bus drivers' strike. The possible labor protest is apparently in response to the drivers' employers' failure to meet increased demands for job protection.
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott says the state's highest court ruled the city can't give those protections. "This is a strike against our children. It is illegal as far as what they're asking us to do and they are hurting our most vulnerable children and it is totally unacceptable," Walcott said.
While parents' concerns are certainly justified, the union has stated that it will provide the companies with at least 24 hours notice before walking off the job. We will certainly keep you posted with any new developments.
Palermo Pizza Organization Efforts Receive Cash Injection from United Steelworkers: Jeff Engel of the Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee reports that United Steelworkers Local 675 out of Carson, CA has been donating $500 a month to the union organizing effort currently occurring at Palermo Pizza. Dozens of Palermo workers have been striking since June in protest against allegedly unsafe working conditions. The strikers are also seeking pay raises and other unspecified management concessions.
Lawsuit Alleges Member Griffin Complicit in Embezzlement Cover-Up: Lachlan Markey at the Washington Free Beacon reports that a lawsuit filed in California federal court accuses National Labor Relations Board member Richard Griffin of being complicit in a plot to cover up acts of embezzlement at the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). The lengthy complaint, which can be found HERE, also alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).
The suit seeks over $5million in damages for a number of RICO Act violations, as well as violations of the Labor Management and Disclosure Act. A Board spokesman referred requests for comment to Griffin's attorney, who has called the allegations "preposterous."
This is not the first time that Griffin has been in some hot water. Back in July of 2012, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) sent Griffin a letter requesting information regarding any ties Griffin may have had with IUOE members who have been convicted of crimes. We will certainly keep you posted on any developments in this case.
Hockey is (Almost) Back: The X's and O's of the New Collective Bargaining Agreement: Donnie Tasser of the Pitt News has laid out the major terms that the National Hockey League and the Players' Association have agreed to in order to end the current lockout. Pucks are tentatively set to drop on January 19, 2013 on a 48-game season. While players and owners still need to ratify the deal, at this point signing the agreement seems to be nothing more than a formality.
Both sides made several major concessions in bargaining in order to reach an agreement. In particular, the division of revenue between players and owners has dropped from 57/43 to an even 50/50 split. The NHL also agreed with the Players' Association that player salary variances would be capped at 35%.
Local Alro Steel Union Members to Vote on De-Unionizing: Jeff Engel of the Milwaukee Business Journal reports that production employees at Local Alro Steel in Wauwatosa, WI will vote this Thursday on whether or not they wish to remain represented by the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO. The 34 employees voting had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on December 7, 2012, seeking a decertification vote. The current collective bargaining unit governing the employees expires in November of this year, so there is a possibility that the employees could shop around for new representation.
Tuesday afternoon, via its Director of Public Affairs, the National Labor Relations Board announced that it would not pass before Thanksgiving on Wal-Mart's request that the Board seek court injunctions against a number of "Black Friday" walk-outs by employees. Business Week today reports NLRB spokesperson Nancy Cleeland's explanation:
“The legal issues—including questions about what constitutes picketing and whether the activity was aimed at gaining recognition for the union—are complex. ... The Memphis Office expects to complete its investigation [Wednesday]. Because of the complexity of the case, it will then be sent to the NLRB Division of Advice in Washington, D.C., for further analysis. Under these circumstances, the Office of General Counsel does not expect to make a decision before Thursday on whether or not to seek an injunction to stop the activity.”
Wal-Mart filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that the Black Friday walkouts are a part of a longer-running series of strikes, and as such, coupled with an intent to organize the employees into a union, violate the National Labor Relations Act's proscription against extended "organizational picketing." Section 8(b)(7)(C) of the Act allows a union seeking recognition by an employer to picket for a maximum of 30 days without having filed a representation (RC) petition at the Board. The company asserts that a number of related protests, all strung together, have already exceeded that 30-day limit.
Complaints alleging illegal picketing tend to get addressed quicker than other cases before the NLRB. It seems nearly impossible, however, given the Board's stated position here -- and the intervening holiday -- that the Board will get involved in any meaningful way prior to the threatened job actions this Friday.
Hostess, the nation’s second largest bread maker, announced today that it was shutting down operations and selling its assets after being unable to ward off a strike by employees represented by the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). In an issued statement, CEO Gregory Rayburn explained:
"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike.”
Hostess had entered into bankruptcy in January. As a result the closing, nearly 18,500 employees will lose their jobs and 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, and 570 outlet stores throughout the United States will be closed. Hostess had warned BCTGM that a strike would be fatal to the company’s viability, however, BCTGM struck anyways. Interestingly, the unions representing various groups of Hostess employees were not unified in their opposition to compromise. The Teamsters, Hostess’s largest union, had reached a deal with Hostess governing the employees it represented and criticized BCTGM’s refusal to do the same. It issued a statement which read in part:
“The BCTGM chose a different path, as is their prerogative, to not substantively look for a solution or engage in the process . . . . BCTGM members were told there were better solutions than the final offer, although Judge Drain stated in his decision in bankruptcy court that no such solutions exist.”
BCTGM rejected a proposal from Hostess that would have cut salaries across the company by 8% in the first year of the five-year agreement. However, salaries would then have bumped up 3% in the next three years and 1% in the final year. Hostess also had also attempted to reduce its pension obligations and its contribution to the employees' health care plan in exchange for other concessions, including a 25% equity stake for workers in the company and the inclusion of two union representatives on an eight-member board of directors.
On May 26, 2011, the House Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions held a hearing entitled "Corporate Campaigns and the NLRB: The Impact of Union Pressure on Job Creation." Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) opened the hearing, defining "a corporate campaign" as a "union effort to disrupt an employer’s routine business" in order to put pressure on the employer to facilitate union organizing. These campaigns often include coordinated tactics such as negative advertising, legal and regulatory complaints filed at government agencies, public relations and consumer communications, and appeals to political and religious leaders. Rep. Roe noted the increasing popularity of this strategy and some related concerns thus:
Over the years the use of corporate campaigns has accelerated. According to one study, between 1974 and 1999, only 200 corporate campaigns were identified. Yet in 2005 it was estimated that between 15 and 20 corporate campaigns were underway at any given time. And recently the National Labor Relations Board has taken a number of steps to expand the arsenal of tactics available for a corporate campaign.
The board has removed bannering restrictions previously placed on boycotts of neutral employers. Employees of onsite contractors have been granted greater access to the property of the contracting employer connected to organizing activity. The board has also requested briefs that could allow even greater access to an employer’s property.
Testifying at the hearing were labor lawyer Jonathan Fritts, Esq., of Morgan Lewis; Chet Karnas, owner of Lone Sun Builders, Inc.; David Bego, CEO of Executive Management Services; and, UC Law Professor Catherine Fisk. An archived webcast of the hearing is available here, and the prepared introductory testimony of each witness is here.
For more on corporate campaigns, see these earlier blog posts and other resources:
The National Labor Relations Board has declared lawful the union practice of displaying large inflatable rat balloons at a secondary employer’s premises to protest the labor practices of a separate non-union contractor. Upon remand from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in Sheet Metal Workers Local 15 (Brandon Regional Medical Center), 356 NLRB No. 162 (May 27, 2011), a 3-1 Board majority extended the rationale set forth in Carpenters Local 15006 (Eliason & Knuth of Arizona, Inc.), 355 NLRB No. 159 (2010), which found a union's display of large stationary banners at a secondary employer's premises -- a hospital -- was not unlawful.
Section 8(b)(4) of the National Labor Relations Act prohibits conduct found to “threaten, coerce, or restrain” a secondary employer not directly involved in a primary labor dispute, if the object of that conduct is to cause the secondary to cease doing business with the primary employer. "Picketing" that seeks a consumer boycott of a secondary employer is generally considered unlawfully coercive. Simple handbilling with the same object is, on the other hand, generally protected speech.
The Board majority here found that the balloon display -- a giant, rabid rat -- did not involve "confrontational conduct," and was thus unlike picketing. The majority noted that the union agents did not move, shout, impede access, or otherwise interfere with the hospital’s operations. The Board concluded that much as the mock funeral procession with coffin and costumed Grim Reaper that the union staged outside the hospital:
[the] rat balloon itself was symbolic speech. It certainly drew attention to the Union’s grievance and cast aspersions on [the contractor], but we perceive nothing in the location, size or features of the balloon that were likely to frighten those entering the hospital, disturb patients or their families, or otherwise interfere with the business of the hospital.
By the combination of holdings in Eliason & Knuth, its progeny, and now this case, the Board has significantly eviscerated the secondary boycott provisions of the Act. Now, so long as the union does not place the signs or huge protest objects on sticks or include "moving" supporters in connection with the display, the Board appears content to allow a union to apply pressure upon neutral employers at their places of business.
Member Brian Hayes dissented:
Considered in the abstract, or viewed from afar, the display of a gigantic inflated rat might seem more comical than coercive. Viewed from nearby, the picture is altogether different and anything but amusing. For pedestrians or occupants of cars passing in the shadow of a rat balloon, which proclaims the presence of a “rat employer” and is surrounded by union agents, the message is unmistakably confrontational and coercive.
Ironically, the inflatable rat used by unions in these protests is manufactured in Plainfield, Illinois -- in a non-union shop.
In today's Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson chronicles frustration with the state of the labor movement in America and the resulting shift in the organizing strategy of the AFL-CIO and the SEIU. In "Labor's Hail Mary Pass," he asserts this shift "reflects a belief that the American labor movement may be on the verge of extinction and must radically change its game."
After highlighting the failure of successive administrations to overhaul the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, he discusses the new strategic approaches these prominent labor organizations are taking in the face of dwindling private-sector union representation:
While some unions still wage more conventional organizing campaigns, the campaign that best captures the desperation of American labor today is that of the SEIU. Perhaps the best-funded and most strategically savvy of American unions, SEIU has embarked on a door-to-door canvass in the minority neighborhoods of 17 major American cities. The goal isn’t to enroll the people behind those doors in a conventional union but, rather, into a mass organization of the unemployed and the underpaid that can turn out votes in 2012 and act as an ongoing pressure group for job creation and worker rights during (presumably) Barack Obama’s second term.
“We realized we could organize one million more people into the union and it wouldn’t in itself really change anything,” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry told me earlier this year. “We needed to do something else — something more.”
The SEIU’s program — like its semi-counterpart in the AFL-CIO’s Working America program, a door-to-door canvass in white working-class neighborhoods — will surely help Democatic candidates, despite the frustrations that nearly all labor leaders feel toward the party. But, like Working America, it signals a strategic shift by American labor, whose ranks have been so reduced that it now must recruit people to a non-union, essentially non-dues-paying organization to amass the political clout that its own diminished ranks can no longer deliver. Since labor law now effectively precludes workplace representation, unions are turning to representing workers anywhere and in any capacity they can. It’s time, they’ve concluded, for the Hail Mary pass.
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.
Politico's Ben Smith reports the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has compiled a draft playbook for national political operations modeled on the recent protests in Madison, Wisconsin. The approach is a significant shift from the union's more traditional approach to the 2008 campaign -- spending "more than $32.5 million in independent expenditures to elect President Barack Obama."
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry acknowledged in an interview that the new strategy, which would include aggressive outreach to non-union members, is “a risk.”
“We felt like we were called in this moment to roll the dice and to think about how to use our members resources for the greatest hope for changing members lives,” she said. “I hope what people will see is more of what we all witnessed in Madison. ... more people in the streets making demands about what kind of America we want to see.”
The new plan, revealed in a planning document reviewed by POLITICO and in the subsequent interview with Henry, reflects the widening recognition by labor leaders that the shrinking national ranks of union members no longer carry the political heft they once did. The draft plan, titled “Fight for a Fair Economy” in what Henry said was a preliminary planning document, would reach outside union ranks to focus on “mobilizing underpaid, underemployed and unemployed workers” and “channeling anger about jobs into action for positive change.”
Apparently Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was more generous than some in expressing only "disappointment" with President Obama yesterday. Ben Smith and John Bresnahan report at Politico that the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) were greeted with rage at a private meeting with the AFL-CIO's Executive Board. From Politico:
Furious union presidents complained about budget cuts, a new trade agreement and what some view as their abandonment, even by their typically reliable allies among Senate Democrats.
“Now, not only are we getting screwed by the Republicans but the Democrats are doing it too,” said one union official, characterizing the mood at a summit of labor leaders who are worried that Democrats seem unlikely to go to the mat for them as an election year approaches.
Presidents of several unions and an AFL-CIO spokesman declined to repeat their private criticism to a reporter Tuesday, a sign that labor feels it must still try to maintain a relationship with the Democratic Party, even if it’s deeply troubled . With Republicans increasingly shifting from private antagonism toward open war with organized labor, unreliable Democratic allies are the only allies the movement has, and it remains unclear whether disappointments will dampen enthusiasm among union acvists and voters in the 2012 elections.
Early last month, Politico's Ben Stein noted on his blog that recent events in Wisconsin had mobilized the labor movement in a way likely to have greater impact in the 2012 electoral cycle than previously anticipated. They may have more immediate, direct impact on union activity in the state -- involving both public and private employers -- long before that.
How do we build on the protests, protect what we have—and lay the foundation to fight for more? Led by experienced labor activists, our workshops will explore strategies to fight back and give you the hands-on skills to make it happen.
The idea is not just to talk about problems for a day and then go home, but to come up with specific plans in some areas, so that we can go out Monday morning and get to work organizing to build on what we've done. There will be ample time to assess what we've gained through our unprecedented activism of the last month.
A flier announcing the event describes course offerings further, including:
Public Sector Workers and How to Fight Back (twice)
Organizing Contract Campaigns in the Great Recession
Labor-Campus-Community Solidarity
Organizing: Nontraditional Approaches
Immigration, Racism, Labor Movement History
Art for Mobilization
Media Engagement and Your Local
Econ 101: Is Capitalism Working for Workers?
Workers: Know Your Rights!
Labor’s Electoral Strategy: Are We Getting What We Paid For?
Before the event began on Friday, April 1st, the Labor Notes website had already announced that the Saturday sessions were booked full, and encouraged people to attend earlier events.
Last week,NAM's Shopfloor blog and others questioned why the National Labor Relations Board was promoting unionization via ads on Google. Late on Friday, the NLRB issued a statement clarifying that it had not paid for the ads and that it was discontinuing their use.
Earlier this week, NAM's Shopfloor blog posted a piece noting that Google featured ads for the National Labor Relations Board's website, under the heading "Labor Organizations Info" and reading:
Find Info on How to Start a Union
Get the Process and More on Our Site!
Shopfloor and LaborUnionReport both questioned why a federal agency might be using taxpayer dollars to promote the formation of unions.
It has been reported that the NLRB spent Agency funds on Google ads. An initial review indicates that the ads were provided at no charge beginning in 2008 by Google.
After discussing the considerable power of unions in the Democrats' experiences during Pennsylvania's 2002 state elections, and early in Governor Howard Dean's 2004 presidential run, Wilson observes:
Then came 2008, when Obama, an upstart with little connection to the Democratic establishment, and labor specifically, was competing against two established brands.
Most major unions lined up behind then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., or former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; the first national union to endorse Obama, the plumbers and pipefitters union, did so on January 9, 2008, after Iowa and New Hampshire had already allocated their delegates. Obama won the Democratic primary with virtually no union help.
The lesson Obama’s team learned, according to Democrats close to the campaign, was that labor’s organizing methods on behalf of Clinton and Edwards were less effective than the organization Obama put together.
Politico's Ben Smith adds these thoughts on his blog:
This is certainly part of what drives Obama's refusal to do any lifting on the Employee Free Choice Act, the top union priority, and his reluctance to make concessions to labor in the health care legislation.
I'd frame it a bit differently: He did wind up with quite a bit of union support, beginning with the backing of the key Culinary Workers union in Nevada, and particularly including the flood of cash from Andrew Stern's SEIU. But they only came on board after Iowa, and he'd barely courted most unions, and made none of the specific promises and commitments to them that Clinton and Edwards did.
Yet, he notes that the events in Wisconsin have mobilized the labor movement in a way likely to have greater impact in the 2012 electoral cycle than previously anticipated.
Tonight's expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association was forestalled by the mutual agreement of the parties on a 24-hour extension. Per a statement released this evening:
“Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George Cohen has announced that the NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed to extend the expiration of the CBA for 24 hours and continue negotiating under the direction of Mr. Cohen. The CBA now is scheduled to expire on Friday night at midnight. The agreement by both sides to refrain from comment on the negotiations remains in place.”
“You’ve got owners, most of whom are worth close to a billion dollars; you’ve got players who are making millions of dollars,” said the president, who is a big fan of the Chicago Bears. “My working assumption, at a time when people are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making the mortgage and, you know, paying for their kid’s college education, is, is that the two parties should be able to work it out without the president of the United States intervening…. "
Football fans will once again tomorrow be glued to the D.C. street corner at 21st & K, looking to see if the folks inside the FMCS building can do just that.
The National Football League today filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the NFL Players Association, alleging that the union has failed to bargain in good faith with the league in violation of Section 8(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act. The text of the charge, filed at the Regional Office for Region 2 in New York City, accuses the union of engaging in unlawful "surface bargaining and an anticipatory refusal to bargain."
More specifically, the charge describes the union's alleged unlawful conduct to include failure to schedule sessions, failure to respond to management proposals in a timely and meaningful manner, insisting upon the disclosure of financial data as a condition to negotiations, and additional conduct indicating a lack of "intent to reach agreement through good faith collective bargaining."
These tactics have been and are integral to -- indeed, they are in preparation for -- the NFLPA's announced strategy to run out the clock and, after the CBA expires on March 3, purport to "disclaim interest" as the representative of the NFL players, a strategy utilized by the Union in a prior negotiation and one that the NFLPA often has threatened to resort to in this negotiation should it be deemed more advantageous to the players than the collective bargaining process that the Union is obligated by law to follow. On the false premise that the bargaining relationship would effectively be terminated as a result of its sham dislaimer, the NFLPA has made plain that it will then seek (i) to enjoin, as a supposed antitrust violation, any effort by the League/Clubs in support of their bargaining demands to exercise their rights under federal labor law lawfully to lock out the players, and (ii) once again to achieve a favorable agreement with the NFLMC through the threat, commencement and subsequent settlement of antitrust litigation, rather than through the give and take of good faith collective bargaining contemplated by the Act and enforced by the National Labor Relations Board.
As evidence, the NFL suggests the Board view the NFLPA's statements and conduct over the course of the last 20 months.
One of the interesting results of this filing is that, pursuant to the NLRB's "blocking charge" rule, the agency will likely not process a decertification petition filed by the players now, until after it has fully investigated this charge. As a result, if the NFLPA intends to continue with its antitrust leverage strategy, the union itself will have to "disclaim interest" in representing the employees -- essentially, it must walk away from the players. It is the union's ability to properly do this that the league is attacking in this charge. According to Chapter 8 of the NLRB's Outline of Law and Procedure in Representation Cases:
To be effective, [a disclaimer] must be clear and unequivocal and made in good faith. Retail Associates, 120 NLRB 388, 391–392 (1958); Rochelle’s Restaurant, 152 NLRB 1401 (1965); and Gazette Printing Co., 175 NLRB 1103 (1969). In International Paper, 325 NLRB 689 (1998), the Board characterized the request as being one of “sincere of abandonment with relative permanency.”
Thus, a union’s bare statement is not sufficient to establish that it has abandoned its claim to representation if the surrounding circumstances justify an inference to the contrary. 3 Beall Bros. 3, 110 NLRB 685, 687 (1955). Its conduct, judged in its entirety, must not be inconsistent with its alleged disclaimer H. A. Rider & Sons, 117 NLRB 517, 518 (1957). McClintock Market, 244 NLRB 555 (1979), and Ogden Enterprises, 248 NLRB 290 (1980). Windee’s Metal Industries, 309 NLRB 1074 (1992).
In assessing the effectiveness of any disclaimer by the NFLPA, the NLRB will indeed study carefully the union’s conduct over the last several months in bargaining, and perhaps more importantly, how it conducts itself after the supposed disclaimer. Any effort by the union and its current leadership to continue to drive the players' negotiating strategy will surely undermine its position on these allegations.
A little over 48 hours before the kick-off of the biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl XLV, the Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell addressed reporters on the state of the league. With the earlier announcement that the owners and the union would sit down the day before the Super Bowl, the League's current labor dispute loomed large during this press conference. In response to a question about a perceived March 4 deadline -- the date the current collective-bargaining agreement expires -- the Commissioner said:
"I frequently said that I think that March 4th is a very critical date because, again, a lot of different strategies will take place if we're not successful in getting an agreement by that time. We need to have intensive, round-the-clock negotiations to address the issues and find solutions. If we're committed to doing that, I think we can be successful. But we have to demonstrate that commitment and get to work."
The late Gene Upshaw – the head of the NFL Players Association at the time --had created the specter of an uncapped year ahead that would -- as he painted it -- change the way the NFL does business irrevocably and make football look like baseball. He had invoked the ominous phrase "Once the Salary Cap goes away, it’s not coming back!" that stoked fear then (it has not done so now), afraid their colleagues in that room would drive player spending to new heights without a Cap to apply the brakes.
Andrew has also well chronicled the various bargaining issues which appear to have the parties far apart. Over the next few weeks, as developments continue to unfold, we will endeavor to explain the traditional labor law principles at issue in this dispute.
In the meantime, here are some additional resources:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor released its annual report of union membership in the United States. Overall, the rate of union membership was 11.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent in 2009. The total number of workers belonging to unions declined by 612,000 to 14.7 million. But union membership in the public sector remained stronger. The BLS summary includes these observations:
--The union membership rate for public sector workers (36.2 percent) was
substantially higher than the rate for private sector workers (6.9 percent).
(See table 3.)
--Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest
unionization rate at 37.1 percent. (See table 3.)
--Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian,
or Hispanic workers. (See table 1.)
--Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate (24.2 percent)
and North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.2 percent). (See table 5.)
You can read the rest of the BLS summary here, or the entirety of the BLS Report starting here.
In New Jersey, with a projected $54 billion gap between assets in its pension and payments promised retirees, Republican Governor Chris Christie wants to roll back a 9 percent benefits increase enacted in 2001 and raise the retirement age to 65 from 62.
“Benefits are too rich and contributions are too small,” Christie said in his Jan. 11 State of the State speech. “The system is on a path to bankruptcy.”
Christie, 48, has also clashed with teachers. He’s sought to cap school-superintendent pay and wants salaries and tenure linked to student performance. The governor’s chiding of a teacher about union unwillingness to accept a one-year pay freeze became a popular Internet video.
In New York, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, 53, with a $10 billion projected budget gap, has called for a one-year state-wage freeze and is mobilizing business for a media campaign supporting his agenda. California’s Brown, 72, confronting a $25.4 billion deficit over the next 18 months, wants to cut employment costs by as much as 10 percent in part with the unpaid days off.
Bargaining Rights
The strongest challenges to unions come from newly elected Republicans such as Wisconsin’s Walker, 43, and Ohio’s Kasich, 58. They were part of a November election wave that now puts their party in control of 25 legislatures and 29 governorships. In addition to proposals to cut wages and benefits, both are seeking to curb workers’ collective-bargaining rights.
“The scope of these attacks is unprecedented,” said Naomi Walker, the Washington-based director of state-government relations at the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest union organization.
While labor unions haven’t said they will withhold campaign money from Democratic candidates who have been traditional allies, actions such as those of Brown and Cuomo could temper the enthusiasm of union voters, Walker said.
“These things will certainly impact whether working families get involved in their political campaigns,” she said.
Unions should use teachers, firefighters and active-duty police as spokesmen so there is “a sympathetic face attached to the issue,” said Chris Lehane, a California-based Democratic strategist who worked on the 2000 Al Gore presidential campaign.
The New York Times politics and government blog, The Caucus, this morning previewed a speech by Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, criticizing Washington politicians for living in an “Alice in Wonderland political climate.” Per the blog, his remarks are "designed to push back against the policies of Republican lawmakers who seized control of the House in last year’s elections," as well as "a goad to President Obama, whose administration has recently seemed eager to court the business community."
The speech will help to set the tone of a debate that is likely to intensify as business and labor groups verbally clash during the 2012 presidential campaign.
“So let me get this straight,” Mr. Trumka says, according to excerpts of remarks obtained by The Caucus. “We need to slash retirement and health benefits for the elderly because we are on the brink of fiscal crisis — but we can afford to squander hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the super-rich? Only at the Mad Hatter’s tea party does this make sense.”
The AFL-CIO and other unions spent tens of millions of dollars during the 2010 midterm elections to make the case for Democratic candidates. But most of those candidates ended up losing in a political wave that swept in many lawmakers backed by the increasingly influential Tea Party movement.
Mr. Trumka plans to say the elections were “fundamentally about jobs” and predicts the 2012 campaign will feature the same concerns among voters.
The document itself is highly critical of the current state of American labor law, and the institutions tasked with its enforcement. Echoing the language used by sponsors and other proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act, the introductory sidebar to the UAW’s “Principles” states:
The current federal framework under the National Labor Relations Act does not protect the rights of workers to freely decide whether or not to join the UAW. ... Employee attempts at redress are futile due to lengthy delays and lack of penalties.
The Principles include commitments by the parties to comply with existing labor law – e.g., not to promise benefits to deter organizing, not to threaten repercussions on account of union sympathies, etc. Law-abiding employers should not have much problem acknowledging these.
The giant union of government workers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is promising to spend a record $66 million this year on get-out-the-vote efforts, voter education and political advertisements. That includes $16 million that the union recently took out of an emergency fund, and it comes on top of $21 million it spent last year, mainly on state and local races. The union says it has spent $17 million on broadcast advertisements so far this year.
Reflecting a growing dispute between unions and the Chamber of Commerce, the public employees’ union is arguing that its campaign spending this year is less than the Chamber’s $75 million, even though the union has spent $87 million over the two-year election cycle.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. plans to spend about $50 million in this year’s campaign, while the Service Employees International Union, one of the most politically active unions, plans to spend $44 million, including $14 million already spent on advertisements.
Labor’s role is especially important to the Democrats because it succeeded in 2008 in making inroads with a crucial demographic: blue-collar white men. While white male nonunion workers voted against President Obama by a margin of 16 percentage points in 2008, he won among white male union workers by 18 percentage points. Moreover, these voters are in the swing states that matter — for instance, about 30 percent of Pennsylvania voters come from union households, as do 35 percent of Ohio voters.
Both states have hard-fought, crucial races for governor and United States senator.
Of the 75 Democratic House seats in play, A.F.L.-C.I.O. leaders say, 37 of those districts have high union membership, with more than 40,000 union voters.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. says that so far this fall its volunteers have given out 17.5 million leaflets, made 23.6 million phone calls, mailed out 18.6 million fliers and knocked on 1.3 million doors, including 183,000 last Saturday.
Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal reports that the players on the New Orleans Saints have voted unanimously to support decertification of the NFL Players Association.The strategy in play would be to subject the NFL owners under antitrust laws if the owners acted together to lock the players out prior to the 2011 NFL season. Unlike the National Labor Relations Act, federal antitrust laws allow for the imposition of treble damages for violations.
As Mullen’s piece explains:
If the NFLPA were to decertify, it would, in effect, operate as a trade organization but cease to be a union. If the league then tried to lock out players, the NFLPA could sue the NFL under U.S. antitrust laws and contend the league was conducting a group boycott, which is illegal. It could not sue the NFL if it remained a union with collective-bargaining authority for its members, under the labor exemption to antitrust laws.
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The letter [recently distributed to all players] says decertification “does two things for us: First, it gives a very firm deadline to the NFL to reach a new CBA with us before the current one expires, and before we end our status as a union. Second, it allows us to file an antitrust challenge against the lockout they are likely to impose the day after expiration.”
The letter does not present decertification as a fait accompli, but rather as giving the union the option to use that leverage if the need arises.
The players employed this strategy in 1989, and it is viewed as having been an element of the leverage that helped them to establish free agency in 1993.The players then recertified the NFLPA as their exclusive representative.While that history provides the precedent for the strategy, it may also provide owners with the argument that the decertification itself is a “sham.”
Former player agent and NFL Executive, and current publisher of the National Football Post, Andrew Brandt makes these astute observations:
The union breathed a heavy sigh of relief in May when the American Needle decision from the United States Supreme Court did not award a sweeping antitrust exemption for the league, a decision that would have wiped out the decertification option for the union.
Would the NFLPA decertify again? Certainly players will vote for the option, as a procedural matter that the Saints kicked off, if only to have that piece of ammunition available. As to whether new leader DeMaurice Smith and the union will use it, I doubt it. Like everything else going on now, it is simply a bullet in the gun in the arsenal that the union has available, although a bullet that the union really does not want to use.
As with everything going on with the stagnant labor negotiations that will be front and center over the coming months, it’s all about negotiations, both towards a new CBA and towards winning the hearts and minds of the fans and media.
The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) has announced that it will re-affiliate with the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor coalition, four years after it left to form the Change To Win coalition with the SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW and other unions.
LIUNA's press release noted that when it left the AFL-CIO in 2006, "the union expressed hope for an eventual reunification, continued to organize much of its political efforts through the AFL-CIO and has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the federation for some time."
[General President Terry] O'Sullivan praised LIUNA's partnership with Change to Win over the past several years.
“The LIUNA of today is different from the one that left the AFL-CIO, and that’s in large part due to the strength of Change to Win’s Strategic Organizing Center,” he said. “Neither our ongoing organizing efforts in weatherization and residential construction — the biggest campaigns we have ever launched — would have been launched without Change to Win.”
President Obama spoke on Wednesday to the AFL-CIO’s executive council in Washington D.C. While organized labor has expressed frustration at times by the White House’s seeming inability to advance its major labor agenda initiatives, the President highlighted the things his administration has achieved.
The president said his administration is enforcing labor provisions in trade agreements and looking to grow the economy by promoting the renewable energy industry.
“At the heart of it is going to be three powerful words: Made in America,” Obama said. “There are no better workers than U.S. workers. There are no better workers than your members.”
Obama vowed to keep fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), so-called “card-check” legislation that would make union organizing much easier.
“Getting EFCA through the Senate will be tough. It’s always been tough; it’ll continue to be tough. But we’ll keep on pushing,” Obama said.
But Obama also said EFCA is not the only means available for promoting unions. He noted his administration’s work in appointing labor-friendly officials to the National Mediation Board and the National Labor Relations Board, agencies that have oversight of union elections and labor law violations.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Obama “did a great job” with the speech.
Regarding EFCA in particular, Trumka said he and the White House are working on a way to move forward on EFCA, though he would not disclose any details:
“We are working on a way to pass it, and they are active participants in that,” Trumka said.
Trumka said labor realizes Democrats need their help in the upcoming elections and predicted the threat of Republican gains will spur union members into action.
Progressive online organizer Michael Whitney has a slightly different view over at FireDogLake.
Collective bargaining helped create our middle class. Working people were able to share in the gains of their productivity and labor and management together forged creative solutions to create the powerful engine of the American economy we all are proud of.
In order to rebuild the middle class today, we need to level the playing field for all working people and update our labor laws to fit the 21st century workplace. That's why the President and I support the Employee Free Choice Act - which would update the NLRA so workers can form unions if they choose to without fear or pressure. In addition, millions of workers are not covered by the NLRA including public sector workers, farm workers, domestic workers, and more - so other laws, like the Public Safety Cooperation Act would ensure that firefighters and other public servants have a voice on the job, too.
Some people say that given the state of the economy, we can't afford unions right now. They've got it backwards.
Wikipedia defines a “flash mob” as “a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse.” These events, typically captured on video for sites such as YouTube, have recently taken place as performance art, commercial publicity stunts, or just college hijinx. Yesterday, the flash mob made an appearance as a labor protest.
Negotiations between unions and a number of San Francisco hotels have been at a standstill for months. Picket lines and boycotts have been in place for some time. On Saturday, the gay rights group Pride At Work employed a new tactic -- a flash mob -- at the Westin St. Francis and Grand Hyatt hotels. Here is the video:
Henry remains a largely unknown quantity on the national political scene, and some officials predicted that she would allow power to return from the Washington headquarters to scattered local unions; others suggested she'd emerge as a charismatic, central figure in Stern's tradition.
Toward the end of the week, the Board issued a press release announcing that Hugo Boss and Workers United/SEIU had reached a collective bargaining agreement which would keep the employer's Brooklyn, Ohio plant open. Another release announced that a representation election will be held at University of Chicago Medical Center to resolve a disputed claim of representation between two rival nursing unions.
EFCA in Arkansas Dem Primary Debates:National Journal reports on last night's debate between Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and her primary challenger Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D-AR):
Halter went on offense first against Lincoln during a question about the Employee Free Choice Act, which is often referred to as "card check." He mentioned that she first sponsored EFCA, then opposed it and then "signaled" to Senate leadership that she would filibuster such a bill. Halter stressed that he would support what he's heard about a compromise unionization bill being worked on by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and that the original EFCA draft is a non-starter even among union leadership now.
That set up Lincoln for an easy body blow on Halter, saying, that she appreciated he "has seen that compromise because most senators haven't seen that compromise." She later added bluntly, "I don't support card check," saying that it "creates unfortunate divisions" though she did not offer specific details. Instead, Lincoln said more focus should be paid to the economy.
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It was going to be hard to top 2011 in terms of unique and dynamic labor law developments. But 2012 may just have lived up to the task..jpg)
The National Labor Relations Board has declared lawful the union practice of displaying large inflatable rat balloons at a secondary employer’s premises to protest the labor practices of a separate non-union contractor. Upon remand from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in 
