Unions
When Does a Neutrality Agreement Provide Unlawful Assistance to a Union? The NLRB GC Weighs In
September 30, 2020
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb issued guidance concerning how he will analyze whether a neutrality agreement provides unlawful assistance to a union, in violation of Section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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Economy Expands, Unions Decline
February 24, 2020
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private and public union membership in 2019 declined.
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Another Drop in Union Membership in 2019 and Some Interesting Tidbits
January 29, 2020
Union membership rate nationwide in 2019 dropped to 10.3 percent, despite a fairly robust national economy and continued job growth.
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Handbook Alert - NLRB Addresses Dress Code Policy Regarding Union Buttons/Insignia
January 13, 2020
The National Labor Relations Board recently addressed Walmart’s dress code policy that prohibits employees from wearing any buttons or insignia unless they are “small and non-distracting.”
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Employers May Cease Deducting Union Dues When CBA Expires
December 17, 2019
This week, on December 16, 2019, the NLRB reversed Lincoln Lutheran of Racine and returned to the rule established by Bethlehem Steel, 136 NLRB 1500 (1962), holding that a dues checkoff provision did not survive the expiration of the relevant CBA, and that an employer did not violate the National Labor Relations Act by discontinuing its practice of deducting employees’ union dues from their wages over a year after the CBA expired.
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NLRB Delivers A “Holiday Gift” To Employers: New Union Election Timelines
December 13, 2019
On December 13, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a final rule revising the Obama-era union election procedures (known as “R-Case” rules). The revision to the procedures will become effective 120 days from its publication in the Federal Register next week.
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Non-Union Members Denied Fair-Share Fee Refunds After Janus
December 1, 2019
In November, the Seventh Circuit joined the consensus across the country, concluding in two separate cases that unions that collected fair share fees prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, 585, U.S. ____ (2018), in accordance with state law and Abood v. Detroit Bd. Of Educ., 431 U.S. 209 (1977), are entitled to assert a good faith defense to Section 1983 liability.
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NLRB Puts New Limits on Union Organizing Activities on Private Property
August 30, 2019
In Bexar County Performing Arts Center Fdn. d/b/a Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 368 NLRB No. 46 (2019), the National Labor Relations Board has limited prior decisions, which allowed the employees of a tenant to engage in union activities on the private property of their employer’s landlord.
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It Isn’t Just Unionized Employees Who Walk Off the Job these Days
August 8, 2019
While strikes have long been a tool of unions to pressure employers regarding wages and other terms and conditions of employment, in recent years, non-unionized employers have seen an increase in employee activism, including walkouts, over political and other related issues.
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Ride for Respect: Intermittent “Hit and Run” Strike or Presumptively Protected Work Stoppage?
July 31, 2019
In May of 2013, some Walmart employees boarded buses bound for Bentonville, Arkansas to attend the Company’s annual shareholders meeting. The buses formed a caravan, picking up employees at Walmart locations on the way. The caravan was dubbed the “Ride for Respect.”
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UAW Narrowly Loses at VW
June 27, 2019
Volkswagen Chattanooga employees on June 14 narrowly defeated the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) for the second time in five years: with 776 voting for union representation (48.2%) and 833 voting against it (51.8%).
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Oregon State Legislature Makes Sweeping Changes for Public Sector Unionized Employers
June 20, 2019
Oregon public employers with unionized workforces take note: last week, the Oregon State Legislature passed House Bill (“HB”) 2016, which will place numerous new restrictions and requirements on how government employers do business with unions and unionized workforces.
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