n a sweeping victory for labor unions, Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected a right-to-work law which sought to ban unions from requiring union fees as a condition of employment in Missouri. By capturing 67% of Tuesday’s vote, opponents of the measure…
Union
Court Says Government Workers Can’t Be Forced to Pay Unions
There’s much hand-wringing and hand clapping today over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to unions. In a 5-4 vote, the Court’s conservative majority ruled that laws requiring teachers, firefighters, police and other…
Roundup of Last Week’s NLRB Precedent Shattering Decisions
According to the NLRB website, the Board is “an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees’ rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy…
HR In a Union Shop: Here’s What Your Supervisors Need to Know
The job of supervising employees in a unionized environment has its own unique set of rules and challenges. HR professionals need to provide supervisors with the knowledge and tools necessary to succeed in this special framework. This applies to both…
Your Agency Temps Can Now Form A Bargaining Unit With Your Own Employees
Over the last seven+ years, the National Labor Relations Board has consistently expanded collective bargaining rights in a variety of employment settings. Continuing that trend, the NLRB has now reversed over a decade of precedent and ruled that temporary employees…
Supreme Court Deadlocks Over Challenge to Mandatory Union Dues
By Sarah J. Moore In a deadlocked 4-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court could not reach a majority consensus in determining whether it is unconstitutional for states to force public sector employees to pay agency shop fees to their unions….
Bernie Sanders Brings Back the Employee Free Choice Act (aka Card Check)
By Eric B. Meyer Remember the Employee Free Choice Act? Back in 2009, the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as “card check,” was introduced in both houses of Congress. The bill had three components: Requiring that an employer recognize a…
Late for Work 111 Times Because of Breakfast, He Got to Keep His $90,000 Job
By Eric B. Meyer Earlier this year, I shared the most unique late-to-work excuses. “I have a bad habit of eating breakfast in the morning, and I lost track of time” did not make the list. However, according to the Associated…
Court Won’t Give Legal Relief From NLRB’s “Quickie” Election Rule
By Nelson D. Cary and George Stevens Last Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board won its first courtroom victory in connection with its “ambush” or “quickie” election rule, which went into effect earlier this month. It was not, however, in…
Believe It or Not, NLRB Protects Foul Facebook Attack on Supervisor
By Nelson Cary Consider this employee’s Facebook post: Bob is such a NASTY MOTHERF___ER don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!! F__k his mother and his entire f__king family!!!! What a LOSER!!!! Vote YES for the UNION!!!!!!! In this case,…
Obama Vetoes Resolution Disapproving NLRB “Quickie” Election Rule
By Ilyse Wolens Schuman and Michael J. Lotito As predicted, President Obama has vetoed S.J. Res. 8, a joint resolution of disapproval seeking to prevent enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board‘s so-called “quickie” or “ambush” election rule. Under the…
House Committee Grills NLRB Leaders on “Quickie” Union Election Rule
By Michael J. Lotito This week, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce and General Counsel Richard Griffin, Jr. came under fire from a sharply divided group of House members during a budget subcommittee hearing. Members pressed Griffin and Pearce…
Congress Has Spoken, Mr. President: No “Quickie” Union Elections
By Lori Armstrong Halber In the words of House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-MN, “Today, Congress voted to stop an unelected board of bureaucrats from trampling on the rights of America’s workers and job creators.” The…
Congress Moving to Block NLRB’s “Quickie” Union Election Rule
By Michael J. Lotito The same day the Senate advanced a joint resolution (S.J. Res. 8) seeking to block implementation of the National Labor Relations Board’s expedited (aka, “Quickie”) union election rule, the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and…
Senate Hearing Questions NLRB’s Controversial “Quickie” Election Rule
By Ilyse Wolens Schuman and Michael J. Lotito The National Labor Relations Board‘s new “quickie” election rule — set to take effect on April 14, 2015 — will detrimentally impact both employers and employees, according to many witnesses testifying this…
SHRM, U.S. Chamber Sue to Block NLRB “Quickie” Election Rules
By Eric B. Meyer It’s on now! Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced that it had filed a complaint in federal court against the National Labor Relations Board to strike the NLRB’s election rules, passed last month, which would…
Should Your Ultimate Goal Be a Union-Free Workplace?
By Howard Mavity Last week’s NLRB Purple Communications decision about employee emails combine with the announcement by the National Labor Relations Board of the so-called “quickie elections” process, is going to stir up employers. You should expect a bevy of…
NLRB Pushes Through Rule Allowing “Quickie” Union Elections
By Eric B. Meyer Cue the haters. Following a decision earlier last week permitting employees to use company email to badmouth you and unionize, the National Labor Relations Board ended last week by passing a new rule, which, in its…
Why That NLRB Ruling About Employee’s Using Email is No Big Deal
By Eric B. Meyer The National Labor Relations Board says that your employees can use company email to badmouth you and unionize. Well, here are four reasons why it’s no big deal. Yes, that’s right — it’s NO BIG DEAL.
Republican Bills Would Halt NLRB’s “Ambush” Union Election Rule
By Ilyse Wolens Schuman and Michael J. Lotito As a preemptive strike against a final “ambush” representation election rule, Republican lawmakers in both chambers introduced legislation that would blunt its intended effects. In February, the National Labor Relations Board reissued…