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Labor Relations / Unions

Ban on ‘Union Yes’ Button Isn’t Free-Speech Violation

11/01/2006

Texas public employers have broad rights to prohibit certain kinds of speech in the workplace, but those rights aren’t unfettered …

NLRB ruling spells end of union eligibility for millions

11/01/2006

In recent years, unions have pushed to organize well-compensated professionals. In response, employers have argued that those professionals form part of the management team and, therefore, are not eligible for union representation. Last month, the employers’ view won out …

Fighting union elections: 6 do’s and don’ts

11/01/2006

To increase your chances of defeating a union drive while avoiding a National Labor Relations Act claim, heed these tips …

Call center staff belongs to same union as the callers

10/01/2006

Work/life professionals who staff the Workplace Options UnionSelect call center in Michigan have a special understanding of the unionized employees on the other end of the phone who are seeking help with child and elder care. Reason: They both belong to the same union …

Union campaigns can’t invade employees’ privacy

10/01/2006

Unions, trying to regain the luster they lost over several decades, have embarked on aggressive organizational campaigns. But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with their disruptive, harassing attempts to contact and organize your employees …

A ‘Perfect storm’ for organized labor is forming over Texas

08/01/2006

For Texas employers, the long-range forecast shows an unstable union atmosphere over the next several years, with pressure building from health care costs, outsourcing and immigration reform. As the united front of the AFL-CIO and the new Change to Win union blow through the state, damage may be significant …

Lessons from the 2006 SHRM conference: Union-Organizing Risks Heightened by Labor’s ‘Change’

08/01/2006

Unions are dead. You may have been hearing that for years. But radical reforms by the labor movement have added new energy to its organizing efforts …

Planned EEOC budget cuts attacked by unions, lawmakers

07/01/2006

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws, has lost 20 percent of its work force since 2001. And it may suffer another budget cut in the coming FY2007 federal budget …
 

Use lots of independent contractors? Heed new legal risks

07/01/2006

Same work, fewer expenses and less hassle. That’s the perceived advantage of using independent contractors. And the mantra has its appeal. But many employers have opted for freelancers only to find a new set of problems: lack of control, unreliable workers and, in some cases, litigation …

Don’t tolerate employees’ abuse of union rights

07/01/2006

Q. One of our employees (a bus driver) also serves as a committee member for a labor union. The driver uses his union position to protect himself from our company’s policy on insubordination. Does management have a right to ban this employee from the property when he conducts labor business because of his combative, disrespectful and intimidating manner? What rights does management have under this circumstance? —S. G., Florida