A New York City ordinance requiring car wash companies to post a higher surety bond if they do not sign a union bargaining agreement covering their employees is invalid because it unlawfully favors unionization, and therefore runs afoul of the National Labor Relations Act, a federal district court judge has ruled on May 26, 2017.
NLRB Begins New “Educational” Campaign in Run-Up to Quickie Election Rule
In a series of tweets, the National Labor Relations Board is using social media in an attempt to increase concerted and union activity under the NLRA.
Starting on February 4, 2015, the NLRB began tweeting exhortations to non-union employees to utilize the Agency’s services and notifications to all employees about the broad jurisdictional reach of…
Fast Food Strikes Grab Headlines, But Can They Reach Supersize?
The latest congeries of quickie strikes at fast food restaurants — one day (or one shift) affairs in most cases — were staged to maximize publicity for the nascent fast food organizing movement. Lots of press, some strong optics, and eleven p.m. news sound bites, but the organizers ended up with only a kid’s-meal sized…
L.A. County Must Provide Non-Union Employees’ Home Addresses, Phone Numbers to Union, California Supreme Court Rules
In a decision of significance for public and private employers, the California Supreme Court has ruled Los Angeles County must provide the union representing its employees under an “agency shop” agreement with the home addresses and telephone numbers of all county employees, including non-union employees. Employers may be interested in a recent post on the …
NLRB’s Division of Advice Finds Direct Dealing in Workers Compensation Settlement Process
Under the National Labor Relations Act, an employer is not permitted to bypass a union and deal directly with employees in connection with their terms and conditions of employment. This direct dealing concept can become complicated, however, when an individual employee asserts a legal proceeding against the employer in which the employee’s union is…
Union Withdraws Support for Affordable Care Act
The United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, which endorsed President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and helped get health care reform passed in Congress, now is calling for repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Kinsey M. Robinson, Roofers Union President, issued the following statement:
“Our Union and its members have supported…
Cooler Heads Prevail: 2d Circuit Reins in NLRB on Union Button Restrictions, Employee “Opprobrious Behavior”
Buttoning Down the Corporate Image
Since 2004, the current incarnation of the International Workers of the World (the storied “Wobblies” of labor’s glory days) has run a high-profile organizing campaign at several Starbucks stores. The company has been resisting the union’s efforts to organize its baristas. Company policy encourages employees to wear multiple buttons promoting…
Cuba and the United States
Cuba is going to lay off 500,000 state workers between now and March 2011. According to the Cuban Workers Federation, the only union in the country, the cause of the job displacement is clear: "Our state can’t keep maintaining…bloated payrolls."
Similarly, the public sector unions in the United States representing a significant number of…
What’s the Deal with Marijuana and Unions?
Membership in unions is on the decline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of unionized workers dropped by 771,000 in 2009, largely reflecting the overall drop in employment due to the recession. With hopes for the passing of the Employee Free Choice Act on the wane, unions have to look elsewhere…
Back to the 20th Century?
The President Barack Obama spoke at a recent meeting of the AFL-CIO and after prepared remarks, he responded to a question from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. The nub of the exchange was that the President would advise employees to join a union, just as President Franklin Roosevelt did back in the 1930s.
Is that what…