We previously reported in August on the National Labor Relations Board’s decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, NLRB Case No. 28-CA-230115, 327 NLRB No. 130 (August 25, 2023), wherein the Board overruled long-standing precedent and adopted a new scheme to provide labor unions with an easier path to unionizing a company.
On Tuesday, November
Unionization
NLRB Gives Organized Labor An Easier Path To Unionization
In a huge victory for organized labor earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board paved the way for unions to represent workers even without holding a formal representation vote. The NLRB did this through a decision by its Democratic majority in a case involving Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC.
The NLRB’s Cemex Construction decision…
NLRB Proposes to Roll Back Its 2020 Rule Regarding Removal of a Union
In March of 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) finalized a rule that substantially overhauled certain parts of NLRB election procedures thereby providing additional protections to the rights of workers with respect to their ability to choose whether or not they wanted to be represented by a union.
More specifically, in…
Biden Administration Pursuing Goal of Increasing Unionized Workforces
Shortly after taking office in January, 2021, President Biden created the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The Task Force’s mission is to develop policies, programs and practices to promote worker organizing and collective bargaining. It is chaired by Vice President Harris, its vice chair is Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and its…
Timeout! NLRB General Counsel Says Student-Athletes Are Employees Who Can Unionize
On September 29, 2021, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a Guidance Memorandum memorializing her position that student-athletes at private universities should be considered “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
The NLRB has never directly answered the question of whether student-athletes are employees under the NLRA. …
Are There Changes in the Wind for Union Reporting of Financial Information?
With the position of its director finally filled (by Arthur F. Rosenfeld), the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) is able to turn its attention to reviewing its rules and interpretations. While the main focus of attention at OLMS during the years of the Obama Administration was the “Persuader Rule” that…
Janus v. AFSCME – The Supreme Court Outlaws Forced Union Dues or Agency Fees in the Public Sector
In one of the most significant labor decisions in decades, the Supreme Court today held in Janus v. AFSCME that public sector workers cannot be forced, over their first amendment objections, to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment. The implications for organized labor, in both the public sector and…
Right to Work Legislation Gains Traction at the State and Federal Levels
Earlier this week, Missouri’s Governor Eric Greitens signed legislation making Missouri the 28th state to pass Right to Work legislation. New Hampshire is considering legislation that, if passed, will be signed by its Republican governor, Chris Sununu, making it the 29th state. Right to Work is, of course, legislation permitted under the Labor Management Relations…
New NLRB Decision Significantly Restricts Employers’ Ability to Make Unilateral Workplace Changes
Employers in union settings know that they generally cannot make changes to their employees’ wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment without first negotiating to impasse with the union. The exception to this rule has historically been that the employers could make changes, as long as they could show that their labor contract…
NLRB Facilitates Joint Unionization Between Temporary and Permanent Employees
In a win for organized labor, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reinstated a union-friendly standard under which both temporary and permanent employees may collectively bargain as a single unit without employer consent. On July 11, 2016, the NLRB’s 3-1 decision in Miller & Anderson, Inc., 364 NLRB No. 39 (2016), made it easier…