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Labor Relations / Unions

NLRB: Don’t fire staff for online gripe sessions

01/21/2013

More employees these days are taking their grumblings about work (and their co-workers) from the office to the virtual watercoolers of Facebook, Twitter and other online outposts. But as a new ruling shows, it’s best to avoid punishing workers for discussing workplace issues online.

Orchestra musicians refuse to dance to ballet’s tune

01/11/2013

A labor dispute forced the Minnesota Dance Theatre to use recorded music instead of a live orchestra for December’s holiday presentation of “The Nutcracker” ballet. According to the union representing Twin Cities classical musicians, the sticking point wasn’t monetary, but artistic.

New York towns may discipline cops outside terms of union contract

12/30/2012

A recent New York Court of Appeals decision gives New York municipalities the right to discipline police officers outside of the collective bargaining framework. The decision stated that the New York State Town Law (known as the Taylor Law) governs police discipline regardless of any existing CBA.

What Obama administration’s second term means for employers

12/18/2012
With President Obama taking the oath of office this month, employers are wondering what his second term will mean for them. Here is a sampling of the issues.

Do your policies comply with the National Labor Relations Act?

12/12/2012
Many employers assume that the National Labor Relations Ac, enacted over 70 years ago, applies only to unionized workplaces and employees who belong to unions. Not true. In fact, the NLRA covers almost all employees and private employers.

Cliffs Natural Resources, Steelworkers sign pact

12/12/2012
Cliffs Natural Resources and the United Steelworkers have ratified a 37-month labor agreement, retro­active to Sept. 1, 2012. The agreement provides a 4.5% wage increase with an additional bonus of $4,250 per employee.

Lorain, Steubenville union elections challenged by DOL

12/12/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor has sued two United Steel­­workers of America locals in Ohio over alleged union election irregularities. The DOL wants both April 2012 elections nullified.

NLRB expands duty to respond to union information requests

12/03/2012
The NLRB continues to force new requirements on employers from all directions. Its latest salvo comes in its ruling in IronTiger Logistics. The NLRB says resulting new requirements represent an effort at increased civility and common sense in the negotiation process. However, the legal foundation for the ruling is suspect.

Ask EEOC to keep employee info confidential

12/03/2012

If you ever have to face off against the EEOC in court, watch out! The commission has great discretion to expand a case that may have begun with just one employee. In doing so, it may demand a long list of information about your employees, past and present. Before turning over employee information to the EEOC, ask the court to order confidentiality.

NLRB and social media: Be careful what your policy prohibits

11/15/2012
There are now fewer union members than at any point in the past 70 years. And if employers, unencumbered by collective bargaining agreements, don’t spend much time worrying about unionization, it’s a safe bet that they give hardly any thought to how labor law intersects with the ways in which employees electronically communicate with one another. But there’s a powerful connection between the two.