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| Pilots at Frontier Airlines Inc. have voted to be represented by their former union, Frontier Airline Pilots Association, instead of continuing representation by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT or Teamsters). The National Mediation Board (NMB) set an election after ruling that Frontier had become a separate transportation system from that of its former parent company Republic Airways Holdings. The Teamsters, which had been the certified union for the combined workforce, received merely three votes. The IBT’s poor showing in the election reflects the contentious relationship between the union and the pilots that centered on the creation of a merged seniority list for pilots at all RAH subsidiaries, which had an adverse impact on pilots at Frontier. |
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| The general secretary of Volkswagen’s (VW) global works council, Frank Patta, has promised to support the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) continued efforts to organize workers at the automaker’s plant in Tennessee. In February, the plant’s workers rejected union representation by a 712 to 626 vote, a result which the UAW alleges was produced by a slew of unfair labor practices committed by third parties. Notwithstanding the election results, Patta stated that VW would support a partnership with the UAW to create the first works council in the United States, which would be separate from the union and would include white- and blue-collar workers who would meet with management to discuss working conditions. Patta’s announcement came just weeks after three anti-union employees dropped their suit alleging that VW and the UAW violated an anti-bribery provision in the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) by allowing the union to use VW property for organizing activities, remaining neutral during the campaign, and conducting employee meetings with the union during employees’ work hours. In that case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), along with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), argued in a statement to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee that the UAW and VW AG did not violate the LMRA by agreeing to such “ground rules” during the union’s organizing campaign. Burton v. Int’l Union United Automobile Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of Am. UAW. |
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| Workers at Exal Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio, overwhelmingly voted against Teamsters representation. The 249–87 secret ballot vote ended an 18-month organizing effort. |
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| One hundred-forty members of the Utility Workers Union of America at four Pennsylvania American Water Co. work sites in Pittsburgh went on strike over alleged unfair bargaining. The workers, comprising water treatment plant operators, customer service representatives, meter readers, and distribution and maintenance employees, are picketing after the water company rejected a mediator’s proposal and then presented and implemented its own last, best, and final offer, which includes provisions that expand the employer’s ability to outsource particular work. The employer is also facing allegations that it discouraged union membership by purportedly stating that workers who wore union insignia would be subject to disciplinary action. While the union has claimed the strike should be considered a lockout under Pennsylvania state law, the employer has rejected that assertion and has urged its employees to return to work. |
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| A walkout by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) workers that resulted in interrupted commuter rail service in Philadelphia ended after President Obama issued an executive order establishing a presidential emergency board (PEB) to broker the labor dispute. The workers are represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Union and employer representatives have identified the key dispute as the unions’ demands for retroactive pay increases and for wage increases that reflect the purported economic value of a pension enhancement schedule that was included in a 2009 labor agreement. The unions and SEPTA have two 120-day periods to reach a settlement. If no agreement is reached by the conclusion of the first 120-day period, a new board will be named, the parties will submit their best and final offers, and the board will select one of the offers as its recommendation. If no resolution occurs, a lockout or strike of the SEPTA rail service, which provides 1,250,000 daily commuter rides, could result. |
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| Teamsters Local 507 members continued picketing at Clifton Steel in Cleveland, Ohio. The workers began picketing on April 24 following a company lock out over a dispute concerning a successorship clause in a labor contract that expired last July. The successorship provision provided that the members retain the same benefits, including pension benefits, in the event the company is sold. The company has proposed a successorship clause that makes the labor agreement binding on a successor, but provides the successor the ability to negotiate a benefits package that does not include the union health and pension agreements. |
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| Members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3641, which represents US Airways reservations, ticket and gate agents, began picketing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, protesting purported improper outsourcing by the company after its December merger with American Airlines. The union alleges that in May, the airline subcontracted some of the baggage jobs at the international arrivals area. The airline contends that the airport hired contract employees to help with new, seasonal flights. The union also filed a grievance over the contract workers last month. |
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| Wal-Mart workers went on strike in several major cities across the country during the week of June 2, to coincide with the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 6. Making Change at Wal-Mart organizers called for mothers to participate in strikes led by the Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Wal-Mart), a volunteer coalition of workers. Strikes occurred in more than 20 cities nationwide, including Tampa, Miami, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Both Making Change at Wal-Mart and OUR Wal-Mart receive support from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). The groups are seeking to improve working conditions for the company’s hourly workers, including guaranteed annual pay of $25,000, and schedules that allow mothers to work 40 hours a week. |
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| Eight people were arrested for blocking an exit leading out of the Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a labor protest involving hundreds of SEIU-United Service Workers West members over contract negotiation disputes concerning health care costs, wages, and work hours. The current labor agreement between the union and airlines, covering 2,500 airport service workers, expired on June 26. |
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| According to an analysis of data by Bloomberg BNA of all settlements reported through June 23, 2014, the average first-year wage increase was 1.9 percent, compared to 2 percent reported in the comparable period of 2013. The median first-year wage increase was 2 percent, the same increase as reported in 2013. The weighted average was 2.6 percent, compared to 1.9 percent in 2013. When construction and state and local government contracts were excluded, the all-settlements average, median, and weighted average increased to 2.2 percent, 2.5 percent, and 2.6 percent respectively, compared to 2.4 percent, 2 percent, and 1.9 percent in 2013. When lump-sum payments were factored into wage calculations, the all-settlements numbers to date for 2014 increased to 2.3 percent, 2 percent, and 3.1 percent respectively, compared to 2.5 percent, 2 percent, and 3.6 percent in 2013. |
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| According to Labour Canada, major collective bargaining agreements (involving 500 employees or more) settled in Canada during April 2014 produced average base rate wage increases of 1.5 percent, less than the 1.6 percent average in March and 1.7 percent in February, but significantly greater than the 0.7 percent average for the first quarter of 2014. The June figure was based on 13 collective agreements covering 76,430 employees, with durations averaging 35.1 months. On a sectoral basis, the top three greatest wage growth sectors in June were seen in utilities (3.5 percent), followed by public administration (3.0 percent), and education, health, and social services (1.5 percent). |
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| Members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA have tentatively agreed to amendments to a labor agreement with Frontier Airlines Inc. Under the tentative agreement, which covers more than 1,000 flight attendants, attendants on the seniority list as of January 1, 2012, would receive three distributions of a portion of a $1,862,000 equity/profit-share compensation. The agreement also calls for a reduction of the overtime pay threshold from 86 hours to 82 hours. |
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| United Steelworkers ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement with Alcoa Inc., which will cover 6,100 workers at plants in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington state. The agreement calls for a ratification bonus of $1,000, across-the-board annual wage increases averaging $3.22 over the term of the agreement, and an increase in the pension multiplier to $2 per month per year of service. In stark contrast to a 2010 agreement that called for increases in premium contributions, deductibles and coinsurance, the ratified labor agreement preserves active and retiree health benefits, with no increase in employee costs. |
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| UAW Local 2865 members tentatively agreed to a four-year agreement with the California University system. The agreement, which covers nearly 13,000 teaching assistants, came just days before a scheduled strike was set to begin. The agreement calls for annual pay increases of 5 percent, 4 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent respectively. The agreement also includes class-size provisions, rights for undocumented students, gender-neutral bathrooms, an expansion of paid leave for child-birth or placement, and an increase in child-care subsidies. In reaching the tentative agreement, the parties settled a number of unfair labor practice charges, including charges complaining of threats and intimidation. |
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| Members of the United Steelworkers and several other unions ratified two six-year agreements with International Paper Co., which will cover 8,800 employees at 71 facilities. A mill agreement, which covers 6,000 workers, calls for annual wage increases of 2.5 percent, 2.5 percent, 2.25 percent, and 2 percent in each of the last three years of the contract. A converter agreement, which covers 2,800 workers, calls for annual wage increases of 2.5 percent, 2.25 percent, 2.25 percent, and 2 percent in each of the last three years of the contract. The agreements also provide for slight changes in health benefits, and an increase to the pension multipliers. |
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| United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) members ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement with grocery chains Schnucks, Dierbergs Markets Inc., and Shop n’ Save, which collectively will cover approximately 9,000 Missouri workers The agreement calls for wage increases of 60 cents an hour over the next two years for all full-time and part-time employees who have reached the top pay scale, which consists of a 15-cent increase retroactive to May, a second 15-cent increase in November, and a 30-cent increase in November 2015. During that same time, baggers with an hourly rate above $8 will receive a wage increase of 30 cents an hour. The agreement also extended a pension provision allowing workers with 40 years of employment to retire at age 62 without a reduction in their pension benefits. Under the agreement, the employer’s pension contribution was decreased from 89 cents an hour for all hours worked to 80 cents an hour. The agreement also allows employees to take off weekends to assist in the union’s efforts to persuade customers not to shop at nonunion stores |
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| International Association of Machinists (IAM) members have tentatively agreed to three labor agreements with American Airlines, which will cover approximately 11,000 fleet service employees, mechanics and related workers and supply clerks, and maintenance training specialists at merger partner US Airways. When ratified, American, the IAM and the Transport Workers Union, which represents approximately 19,000 workers at American, are anticipated to begin negotiation efforts for a single contract setting uniform pay, benefits, and work rules for the integrated carriers. The three agreements, which become amendable three years after ratification, provide job security provisions limiting US Airways’ ability to close an airport work station and transfer employees, and barring the furloughing of any US Airways workers while the airline carriers continue to integrate. The agreements also call for five potential wage increases through 2017. Mechanics and related workers and store workers are set to receive two 3 percent wage increases in 2014, a similar increase in 2015, and 1.5 percent increases in 2016 and 2017 if a joint agreement has not been executed. Wage increases for the other represented workers will become available only after the final agreements are released. |
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| Members of the Cleveland Cincinnati Ohio Casino Workers Council, a group that includes the United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and UNITE HERE, have ratified a five-year labor agreement with Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which will cover approximately 1,000 casino employees. The agreement, ratified after 18 months of bargaining, calls for a 9.6 percent wage increase over the term of the agreement, bonuses of up to $1,000, guaranteed free parking, reduced meal costs during on-shift, seniority-based scheduling preferences, and the arbitration of work disputes. |
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| IAM members ratified a 3.5-year labor agreement with AK Steel Holding Corp, covering approximately 1,700 workers at the company’s Middletown Works facility in Southwest Ohio. Although all the details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the agreement calls for a signing bonus of $1,500, an increase in employee wages and pension benefits, and the maintenance of healthcare benefits. |
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| Members of seven UFCW locals ratified two-year labor agreements with California grocery chains Vons, Ralphs Grocery Co., and Albertsons, covering approximately 60,000 workers. The agreement calls for a total wage increase of 55 cents per hour for workers who have reached the top of the wage progression scale. The agreement also maintains pension benefits with no additional costs to workers or reduction in benefits, and employer pension contributions increase by 35.2 cents per hour for all hours worked over the term of the agreement. The agreement also preserves employee health benefits, and health insurance coverage will continue with no increase in employee premiums and no increase in out-of-pocket expenses for the term of the agreement. The two-year term is tied to Albertson’s planned acquisition of Safeway Inc., which limits the parties’ ability to forecast benefit levels beyond two years. |
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| Members of the UFCW ratified a five-year labor agreement with JBS processing plant in Minnesota. The agreement, which covers around 1,800 employees and was ratified weeks after union members authorized a strike, calls for wage increases of $1.80 per hour over the term of the agreement, maintain much of the existing pension and welfare plans, and retains double-time pay for Sunday work and time-and-a-half pay for working a sixth consecutive day. The agreement also calls for the establishment of a low-cost health care clinic, which will provide employees with constant access to physicians with no payment for primary care. |
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| Members of the UAW and Steelworkers have ratified separate three-year collective bargaining agreements with Dana Holding Corp., which will cover approximately 3,700 workers at sixteen facilities in nine states. In an effort to close a tiered pay gap, the agreements, which were negotiated jointly, call for various wage increases for all employees in the form of lump sum increases and base wage increases. The agreements also provide for a 25 percent increase in profit-sharing payments, create an optional dependent life insurance program, and call for increased employer contributions to employees’ 401(k) accounts and pension trusts. |
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| International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1600 members have ratified a three-year labor agreement with PPL Corp., which will cover approximately 3,000 linemen, generation workers, customer service employees, and clerical workers in Pennsylvania. The agreement calls for wage increases of 2.5 percent in both the first and second years of the agreement, followed by a 2.75 percent wage increase in the third year. The agreement also calls for increased workforce flexibility, increases in employee health care contributions, and requires new hires to select a healthcare plan with a high deductible. |
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| The Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 – affiliates of UNITE HERE – have tentatively agreed to five-year labor agreements with five Las Vegas casinos, which would cover nearly 44,000 housekeepers, food and beverage servers, bell department workers, and other nongaming employees on the strip and downtown. Averting the threat of a strike at nine Las Vegas properties, the Four Queens Hotel and Casino, Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel, the Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Las Vegas Club Hotel and Casino, and the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino all reached tentative agreements with the unions. The terms of the agreements are not currently available. |
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| In a highly-anticipated, end-of-Term decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Noel Canning v. NLRB—a separation-of-powers showdown between the President and Congress on the question of when the President can make “recess” appointments. By a unanimous vote, the Court held that the President acted outside of his constitutional power in appointing three members to the NLRB in January 2012. The case arose from a labor dispute involving Noel Canning, a Pepsi bottling company. Following an adverse ruling by the NLRB, the company asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn the ruling on the basis that the NLRB lacked a lawful quorum when it acted. Under New Process Steel, a Supreme Court decision from 2010, the NLRB, a five-member board, needs at least three members for a quorum. The Board panel that decided the Noel Canning case included only two Senate-confirmed members; the others were recess appointments by the President on January 4, 2012. At the time of those appointments, however, the Senate was meeting in pro forma sessions every three days, while it was otherwise out of session from mid-December through mid-January. The D.C. Circuit held that the President lacked authority to make the appointments at issue under the Appointments Clause. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the appointments were invalid, but on a narrower basis than the D.C. Circuit’s ruling. The Court held that “a recess of more than 3 days but less than 10 days is presumptively too short to fall within the Clause.” The Court concluded that the three-day recess before the Court was too short to support the President’s exercise of his recess appointment power. Noel Canning v. NLRB. See our client briefing Supreme Court Strikes Down NLRB Recess Appointments. |
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| Noel Canning may likely have extensive effects on labor cases decided between January 2012 and August 2013, when the Board lacked a valid quorum. By some estimates, between 100-800 NLRB decisions could be invalid under Noel Canning. These include decisions involving employee use of social media (Costco Wholesale Corp. (2012)), employer confidentiality rules (Costco and Banner Health System (2012)), dues check-offs (WKYC-TV, Gannett Co. (2012)), and employee discipline/bargaining over grievance-arbitration process (Alan Ritchey, Inc. (2012)). The review of invalid Board rulings may hamper the Board’s ability to implement its agenda, which currently also includes a rulemaking proposal to streamline the union election process and calls for briefs on other hot button issues, including whether workers can use their employers’ e-mail systems for union-organizing purposes. |
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| In another Supreme Court long-awaited decision, the Court held, in a 5-4 ruling, that home care aides that are paid by the state of Illinois but mostly supervised by the recipients they service are not “full-fledged state employees” who can be compelled to pay union dues or fees to a union recognized by the state as their bargaining agent. The home aides had argued that an executive order by a former Illinois governor and labor agreement between the state and SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana violated their First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights by requiring the aides to accept the union as their bargaining agent and requiring them to pay either union dues or a fair share fee to support union representation costs. The decision is a serious defeat to unions like the SEIU, which represents about 400,000 home care aides across the country. Although the majority expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of union shop or fair share agreements in public employment in general, the Court declined to overrule precedent that generally allows such agreements for public employees. Harris v. Quinn. |
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| The District Court for the Western District of Michigan held that an employer was precluded from recovering against a union for bringing a lawsuit seeking retiree health benefits in purported violation of a shutdown agreement. The court reasoned that the employer’s claim was barred by the doctrine of res judicata, as it should have been raised in earlier litigation dating as far back as 2006. Newell Window Furnishings, Inc. v. Auto Workers. |
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| An NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled that an employer did not have a duty to negotiate with a newly certified union before terminating 12 workers for various misconduct and rule violations. In Alan Ritchey Inc., the NLRB had held that before an employer reaches a first contract with a union, it must provide pre-imposition notice and an opportunity to bargain about major disciplinary actions. While the ALJ found that the employer failed to provide such notice and bargaining, she dismissed the unfair labor practice complaint because the employer had an interim agreement with union representatives that allowed post-action grievances concerning disciplinary decisions. In so holding, the ALJ rejected the NLRB General Counsel’s argument that the interim agreement did not excuse the failure to bargain under Alan Ritchey Inc. because it lacked an arbitration provision. Medic Ambulance Serv. |
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| The NLRB affirmed an ALJ’s ruling that a “no gossip” rule that prohibited employees from participating in or instigating gossip about the company, fellow employees, or customers violated Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA was impermissibly overbroad.
According to the ALJ, the rule, which was contained in an employee communication policy, improperly barred workers from discussing or complaining about any of the terms and conditions of employment. The NLRB also affirmed the ALJ’s ruling that the employer unlawfully discharged an employee under the “no gossip” rule for engaging in discussions with employees concerning, among other work-related concerns, paid time off requests. Laurus Tech. Inst. |
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| A divided NLRB ruled that a manager’s remark to an employee that she should not “stick her neck out for anyone” was an implied threat of retaliation for the employee’s participation in a group protest concerning working conditions, which violated Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA. In reversing the ALJ’s finding that the comment did not illegally threaten the employee, the NLRB noted that the remark occurred on the same date the employees presented complaints regarding working conditions. The NLRB affirmed the ALJ’s other rulings that the employer threatened, interrogated, and discharged employees because they engaged in protected activity. SFTC, LLC. |
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| The NLRB ruled that a hospital impermissibly fired an employee for seeking employee statements and signatures to defend against an accusation that he threatened an co-worker, which constituted protected, concerted activity under the NLRA. In so holding, the NLRB reversed an ALJ’s finding that the employee was not engaged in concerted activity because he sought witnesses for the sole, personal reason of showing his good character. Dignity Health. |
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| An ALJ held that a policy identifying “boisterous” workplace activity as cause for possible discharge is impermissibly overbroad and violates Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA . The ALJ also held that while the employer could prevent employees not reveal client phone numbers, it could not bar employees from revealing customer work locations, reasoning that the non-disclosure of job sites could inhibit the ability of unions to meet and communicate with employees. The ALJ dismissed an allegation that the employer’s maintenance of a work rule prohibiting the disclosure of customer information to outsiders was not overbroad, as it was clear that the rule related only to customer information obtained at work sites, and not a work location itself. The ALJ also found unlawful the employer’s handbook rules prohibiting employees from taking photographs or making recordings in the workplace, but in so doing noted that NLRB and appellate court guidance is necessary to resolve conflicting ALJ decisions related to videography and photography rules. Prof’l Elec. Contractors of Conn., Inc. |
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| An ALJ held that a home care provider’s confidentiality rule that barred former employees from revealing client information or business practices learned while employed at the agency was unlawfully overbroad. The ALJ also ruled that the employer engaged in bad faith negotiations with the union by repeatedly cancelling and delaying meetings. On the other hand, the ALJ ruled in favor of the employer regarding six out of seven allegations by employees who argued that they were terminated or demoted after they participated in organizational efforts, noting that the infractions of six of the seven employees would have led to the discipline even in the absence of the union activity. Kitsap Tenant Support Servs. Inc. |
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| The NLRB affirmed an ALJ’s holding that an employee was lawfully discharged for disclosing sensitive financial information, despite the fact that the employer maintained an overbroad rule prohibiting the disclosure of “confidential information.” The employee was discharged for revealing to competing companies the rates the employer paid its drivers, carriers, and rates charged to its clients. The NLRB reasoned that the employee’s discharge was lawful because the employee “deliberately betrayed” the employer’s confidentiality interest. Flex Frac Logistics, LLC. |
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| An ALJ applied the NLRB’s controversial D.R. Horton analysis in striking down an arbitration agreement that precluded employees from pursuing class or collective lawsuits or arbitration claims. The NLRB’s General Counsel issued a complaint after a lawyer, who represents eight employees in a proposed collective and class action against the employer, filed an unfair labor practice charge after the employer moved to dismiss the Fair Labor Standards Act suit on the basis of the waiver. Although the Fifth Circuit has denied enforcement of the NLRB’s Horton ruling, which held that maintaining and enforcing a mandatory arbitration agreement that waived the rights of employees to participate in class or collective actions in any forum violates Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA, the ALJ ruled that he was required to follow the controversial holding unless and until it is reversed by the NLRB or the Supreme Court. Flyte Tyme Worldwide. |
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| An ALJ ruled that a California car dealership engaged in unfair labor practices by maintaining several overbroad employee handbook provisions, including an overbroad “confidentiality” rule that prohibited employees from providing information, including job application references, to outside sources, and a publicity rule that prohibited employees from speaking to the media with company approval. Finally, the ALJ also applied the NLRB’s D.R. Horton decision to strike down an arbitration agreement that waived the employees’ rights to bring class or class collective claims with respect to employment-related disputes. Fairfield Imports LLC. |
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| An ALJ ruled that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and one of its locals unlawfully induced members to deliberately slow the movement of cargo for months in an attempt to pressure the neutral employers in a labor dispute concerning the assignment of work on a cargo container in violation of a secondary boycott provision of the NLRA. The ALJ rejected arguments that the congestion was caused by other factors. The ALJ found that although there was nothing suggesting the international union participated in the slowdown, it authorized or ratified the stoppage. Int’l Longshore & Warehouse Union (ICTSI Ore. Inc.). |
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| A Washington state judge held that a farm that recently withdrew an H-2A application could not disqualify migrant workers from employment based on “unexcused absences” incurred while on strike. The judge issued a temporary restraining order after finding that the workers had a “well-grounded fear” that their labor rights under the state’s labor law were being violated. Prior to its withdrawal, the employees claimed the H-2 application was filed to avoid hiring the domestic workers who participated in labor disputes. Another county judge had separately issued a permanent injunction enjoining the farm from hiring security guards to patrol labor camps established in response to wage disputes. Familias Unidas por la Justicia v. Sakuma Bros. Farms, Inc. |
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| The NLRB accepted a Second Circuit finding that the Board applied the wrong standard in determining whether Starbucks Corp.’s termination of a barista who engaged in a profanity-laden argument with a manager violated the NLRA. Remanding to the NLRB, the Second Circuit held that the NLRB’s traditional Atlantic Steel four-factor test for addressing whether an employee outburst is protected is inapplicable in cases where an employee uses obscenities in a customer setting. On remand, the NLRB accepted the Second Circuit decision as the law of the case, but still found the termination unlawful, finding that even if the outburst was unprotected, there was evidence that the discharge was motivated by the barista’s union activity. Starbucks Corp. |
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| The NLRB has announced its intention to dismiss unfair labor charges filed by 36 IAM members alleging the union violated its duty to represent them during negotiations with Boeing over a proposed extension of a labor agreement. After IAM members rejected an extension proposal that called for an end to defined benefit pensions for more than 30,000 Washington workers, Boeing responded that the company would relocate its production of a new airliner out of the state if the proposal was rejected again. IAM members ratified an eight-year extension in January. Members claimed that by scheduling the vote on the contract in early January when a high percentage of members were gone, the union violated its duty to provide reasonable notice of the vote and a reasonable opportunity for the members to vote. |
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| The Supreme Court of Canada held thatWal-Mart Stores Inc. violated a Quebec labor law when it closed a store in 2005 only months after its employees selected representation by UFCW Local 503. Under the law, employers are prohibited from changing working conditions without a valid business justification. Although Wal-Mart claimed it was closing due to business reasons, the Court found that the closing was inconsistent with the company’s normal management practices. Wal-Mart announced the closure and nearly 200 layoffs shortly after it reached impasse with the union. United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 503 v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. |
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| The District Court for the Western District of Tennessee rejected an employer’s argument that a regional director lacked authority to issue an unfair labor practice complaint alleging the company illegally locked out employees and the court lacked jurisdiction to consider the related petition for a preliminary injunction. The employer argued for dismissal of the injunction petition, asserting that the NLRB lacked a valid underlying administrative complaint because the NLRB lacked the quorum needed to approve the regional office reorganization, under which the regional director obtained her responsibilities. The court disagreed, holding that even if the recess-appointed members lacked authority to reorganize agency offices and assign geographic territories to regional directors, the regional director properly exercised her authority as an agent of the NLRB’s General Counsel. McKinney v. Kellogg Co. |
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| The DOL responded to a lawsuit filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Association of Manufacturers, alleging that the DOL’s requirement that federal contractors post notices informing employees of their rights to unionize unfairly promotes unionization, compels speech in violation of the First Amendment, and is preempted by the NLRA. According to the DOL, the rule, which was passed with authority purportedly derived under the Procurement Act, promotes efficiency in contract procurement that outweighs any interest contractors might have in not posting the notices. The DOL further argues that the poster requirement does not infringe contractors’ free speech rights because the notices are “government” speech and not “private” speech, and that the government is permitted to set conditions on the receipt of federal funds. Nat’l Assoc. of Manufacturers v. Perez. |
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| The Teamsters Union filed a letter with the District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to end 25 years of federal oversight by lifting a 1989 consent decree that established an Independent Review Board charged with resolving corruption issues with the union and setting union election oversight protocol. Although the union has had various discussions over the last decade with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY AG) about ending the decree, the letter marks the first time the union is seeking court intervention. The union has stated that organized crime has been eliminated from the union, and that it is time for the union members to reclaim control over the union, free from financially burdensome federal oversight. The SDNY AG and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union have filed two briefs in opposition to the Teamsters’ request, arguing that objectives of the decree have not been achieved, and warning that a lifting of the decree would result in the elimination of elections. |
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| In response to the NLRB’s consideration of changing its rules to require employers to provide unions with employee’s telephone numbers and personal email addresses in voter lists, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) presented an amendment to an appropriations bill that would prevent the rule change. Alexander, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, offered the amendment to an appropriations bill to fund other parts of the federal government. Alexander’s amendment is not the sole effort to block the NLRB’s potential rule change. In May, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved two bills that would also block the rule change. |
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| During a recent labor conference at NYU School of Law, NLRB General Counsel Richard F. Griffin Jr. announced that eliminating company policies that prohibit employee wage discussions is one of his top priorities. Griffin also noted that he is considering issuing a general counsel memorandum that provides employers with specific guidance on employee handbook policies that he considers to be problematic. Griffin emphasized that improving the agency’s ability to seek interim injunctive relief under Section 10(j) of the NLRA was another key priority, particularly in cases involving allegations of bad-faith bargaining on first contracts in newly organized workforces, unfair labor practices in union representation cases, and where successor employers refuse to hire the predecessor’s workers or honor an existing labor agreement. To further the Section 10(j) initiative, Griffin stated that he intends to hold training for new and current NLRB employees. |
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| The House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee heard testimony regarding the potential consequences of two pending NLRB cases. In Purple Communications, Inc., the NLRB invited briefing on whether and to what extent employees have the right to use employer e-mail and communications systems for engaging in protected activity under the NLRA, including union organizing activities. In Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., the NLRB invited briefing on whether it should revise its current standards for determining joint employers under the NLRA. The Subcommittee heard testimony recommending that in light of the NLRB’s current case backlog and the Noel Canning decision requiring the re-visitation of hundreds of invalid rulings, the NLRB should timely resolve its pending cases before continuing on its aggressive, policy-oriented agenda, which the Subcommittee Chairman noted could threaten to stack the deck in favor of unions. |
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| A former IBT Local 337 official was sentenced to one day in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $18,000 as a result of his felony conviction on bribery charges. Michael Townsend was convicted of taking quarterly cash bribes totaling $18,000 from an officer of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, a Detroit produce company, in exchange for protecting the company from organizing efforts by the local. In January, the produce company was ordered, among other things, to pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to making illegal payments to a labor official. |
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| According to an analysis by Bloomberg BNA, over the past 10 years, employer health insurance costs for union-represented workers far surpassed that for nonunion workers, as union worker healthcare costs increased by 80 percent compared to only a 51 percent increase for nonunion workers. During the same period, wages and salaries for both groups have increased by comparable amounts. According to the data, hourly compensation, consisting of pay and employer-provided benefits, totaled $43.84 for private sector unionized workers in the first quarter of 2014, compared to $28.63 for nonunion workers. |
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| In an apparent response to the decreasing percentages of unionized workforces, labor unions are pressuring political supporters to politicize elementary social studies curriculums. While total union membership has dropped to only 11.3 percent of the total employed workforce, only 4.2 percent of employed individuals aged 16–24 years old are unionized. In an effort to retain the youth, unions are advocating that labor history be included in social studies curriculums, which has created speculation that such curriculums will exclude topics less favorable to unions, including union corruption. |
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| Dennis Williams was elected as the new President of the UAW. A 37-year veteran of the UAW, Williams served one term as secretary-treasurer, severed 10 years as director of Region 4, and has experience organizing auto plants. Williams has vowed that the UAW would make “no more concessions” to companies. Rather, Williams, who was elected by 98 percent of the vote, stated that the UAW will continue to engage and educate its membership. Williams also acknowledged that the 2015 negotiations with the major Detroit automakers will be one of the big challenges of his term. In contrast to the 2011 Big Auto agreements, which included wage freezes to remedy the recession, UAW delegates have called for new labor agreements to include increases to pay and benefits, as well as the elimination of the two-tiered pay structure that was negotiated in 2007 as a way to make labor costs more competitive with foreign car makers’ U.S. factories. The two-tiered pay structure is alleged to allow the automakers to pay a veteran employee up to $28 an hour while capping newer hires’ pay at about $19 an hour. Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has stated that he wants to phase out the higher tier as veterans retire. Williams is succeeding outgoing president Bob King, who was not eligible for reelection under union rules because of his age. |
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| For the first time in nearly five decades, the UAW increased monthly member due rates from 2 hours of pay to 2.5 hours of pay. The Union claims the increases will be allocated solely to the union’s strike and defense fund. Delegates of the union’s constitutional convention who passed the dues change, the first since 1967 and which are effective in August, contend that the raise is necessary to augment the strike fund in preparation of the 2015 contract negotiations with the major Detroit automakers Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Fiat Chrysler. |
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| Speaking at the UNITE HERE convention, UNITE HERE President D. Taylor set forth the union’s goals over the next five years, calling on the union’s 700 delegates to increase union membership by 50,000, as well as heighten employee awareness of the benefits of the union-sponsored health and welfare plans. Taylor also vowed to continue actively supporting amendments to the Affordable Care Act related to multiemployer plans. To finance contract negotiations, political outreach, and other organizing efforts, delegates accepted a unanimous recommendation of the union’s constitutional committee for a $2.50 increase in the per capita dues paid by the locals to the international union. |
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July 16, 2014 |
| Wage and Hour Update |
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| August 14, 2014 |
| Executive Compensation Issues Update – New Rules |
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| September 18, 2014 |
| Employment Issues for Growing Companies eLunch |
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June 27, 2014 |
| Supreme Court Strikes Down NLRB Recess Appointments |
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| June 26, 2014 |
| U.S. Supreme Court Holds ESOPs Are Not Entitled to a Special Presumption of Prudence |
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| June 24, 2014 |
| California Supreme Court Rules That Arbitration Agreements With Class Action Waivers Are Preempted by the FAA, But PAGA Action Waivers Are Not |
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| If you have questions about items that appeared in this bulletin, or would like to learn more about any of these topics, please contact William Miossi at (202) 282-5708 or (312) 558-6109, or one of the other Labor & Employment Relations attorneys listed here: |
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