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| In a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board)-administered vote, the 263 resident physicians and fellows at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. elected the Service Employees International Union’s Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU) as their bargaining representative. NLRB certification of the 13,000-member CIR/SEIU as the resident physicians and fellows’ representative is pending, as the hospital has filed various objections to the election, which are pending investigation at NLRB Region 5 in Baltimore. |
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| The secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Teamsters) Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. wrote a letter to the Chief Executives of Apple Inc., Yahoo Inc., eBay Inc., Genentech Inc., Zynga Inc., and Amtrak, urging them to support unionization efforts by about 120 employees of Compass Transportation, a shuttle bus service company that provides transportation services to the six companies. The Teamsters filed a petition with the NLRB seeking a representation election on January 20th. In his letter, the secretary-treasurer accuses Compass Transportation of “fabricating issues” to delay the representation election process and of using “union busting, harassment, innuendo, threats, and intimidation” tactics. |
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| Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has declined an offer from the U.S. State Department’s National Contact Point to mediate a dispute with the United Auto Workers (UAW), stating that the NLRB is the appropriate body to consider the employment dispute. In their filing with the State Department, the UAW and IndustriALL, an international labor group, claim that Nissan has violated international labor rules by interfering with the union organizing efforts of workers at its Canton, Miss. plant. Nissan maintains that it follows Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines. |
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| The American Council of Employees (ACE), a 501(c)(3) labor organization, has been verified to represent over 15 percent of the hourly and salaried employees at Volkswagen Group of America Inc.’s (VW) Chattanooga, Tennessee plant. This level of support meets the “level 1” threshold of VW’s “community organization engagement” policy. ACE, which was formed to oppose the UAW, will now be permitted to reserve meeting space within the plant and to meet monthly with VW’s human resources department. ACE ultimately hopes to form a European-style “works council,” at which workers will meet with plant executives to set plant policy. UAW Local 42, which represents only hourly workers, was previously the sole representative of employees at the plant. The union has reached the “level 3” threshold of VW’s policy, having been recognized as the representative of more than 45 percent of the plant’s employees. Level 3 is the highest level of company access, allowing UAW Local 42 to meet biweekly with human resources and monthly with VW-Chattanooga’s executive committee. The union also seeks to form a local works council, but through a collective bargaining agreement. Despite having lost its representation election bid in February 2014, UAW Local 42 states that it now represents more than 50 percent of the plant’s workers. |
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| Non-tenure track full-time professors at Tufts University voted in favor of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as their exclusive bargaining representative, joining the university’s part-time professors in SEIU Local 509. The union is conducting a nationwide campaign to organize adjunct professors. |
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| In another victory for SEIU Local 509, adjunct faculty at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. elected Local 509 as their exclusive bargaining representative, joining adjunct professors at Tufts, Lesley University, and Northeastern University. The adjunct professors voted 108-42 in favor of union representation, despite having voted 100-98 against, in October 2013. Joan Atlas, adjunct professor at Bentley, attributed the change to unaffordable benefits and wages being frozen at $5,000 per undergraduate course, despite full-time professors receiving raises. SEIU represents more than 23,000 adjunct and non-tenure track professors nationwide. |
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| The Writers Guild of America East (the Guild) seeks to organize some 2,000 nonfiction television writers and producers at about 40 production firms in New York City. The Guild argues that writers and producers of “reality TV” programs work long hours with no overtime and weak benefits. Production firms hire freelancers to avoid paying taxes and employee benefits, according to the Guild. Writers and producers at ITV Studios voted for Guild representation in 2010, but ITV and the Guild have not agreed on a collective bargaining agreement. The Guild stated in October 2014 that it will not allow its members to work on a high-profile reality show starring Neil Patrick Harris unless a collective bargaining agreement is reached. In November 2014, the Guild filed an unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB, claiming that ITV had failed to bargain in good faith, had reduced employee compensation by $300 per month, and had implemented a high-deductible insurance plan. ITV maintains that it has not violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). |
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| According to the AFL-CIO’s annual membership report, the federation’s member unions saw an annual drop of 43,483 members in 2014. Fourteen unions, including the UAW, the American Federation of Teachers, and National Nurses United, saw an overall increase of 39,763 members. These gains were offset among the 24 unions, including the AFSCME, USW, and UNITE HERE, that lost a total of 83,246 members. Average membership among the 56 unions that make up the AFL-CIO was 9,323,990 in 2014, not including about 3.3 million members of the federation’s affiliate for unrepresented workers, Working America, or about 4.4 million members of the affiliated Alliance for Retired Americans. |
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| According to Department of Labor reports, 2014 saw 11 strikes or lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more in 2014, resulting in 200,000 lost workdays. Additionally, the number of workers idled dropped to 34,000, down from 55,000 in 2013. Since 2009, major work stoppages have averaged 13.3 per year. |
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| Twelve oil refineries and three petrochemical facilities have joined a nationwide strike led by the United Steelworkers (USW) amidst collective bargaining negotiations between USW and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (Shell), which is negotiating on behalf of major oil companies. While only one plant has reported a decrease in production due to the strike, the plants collectively represent 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity. The USW has rejected six contract proposals offered by Shell, ostensibly in an effort to gain improved health and safety measures for employees at U.S. refineries. The Steelworkers’ action is the first national oil worker strike in the United States since 1980, and coincides with the lowest oil prices since 2008. |
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| SEIU Local 32BJ organized a one-day strike and rally of about 100 baggage handlers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The union alleges that Aviation Safeguards, an airport contractor, has engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to discuss wages and working conditions and by threatening to fire workers who took part in the strike. The union, which seeks to represent the workers, also filed unfair labor practice charges against Aviation Safeguards. Whether the baggage handlers are sufficiently under the control of the airlines to fall under National Mediation Board (NMB) jurisdiction is at issue in the case. Aviation Safeguards argues that its labor relations should be handled by the NMB, not the NLRB, under the Railway Labor Act. |
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| Bloomberg BNA reports that contract settlements through February 23, 2015 showed an average first-year wage increase of 2.7 percent, compared to 1.9 percent during the same period in 2014. Median first-year wages increased 2.3 percent, compared with 2 percent in 2014 and the weighted average increased to 4.3 percent from 3.1 percent in 2014. The average increase in settlements rose significantly when construction and state and local government contracts were excluded to 3.7 percent, compared with 2.1 percent in 2014. The median increase when the sectors were excluded rose to 2.8 percent from 2.6 percent in 2014 and the weighted average increased to 4.6 percent from 3.3 percent. Average first-year wage settlements increased by 3.1 in 2015 when lump-sum payments were included, compared with 2 percent in 2014. The median increase when lump sums were included was 2.5 percent, compared with 2 percent in 2014, and the weighted average was 5 percent, compared with 3.2 percent in 2014. |
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| According to Bloomberg BNA, 16 percent of non-construction contracts included lump-sum payment provisions in 2014, down from 17 percent in 2013. When lump sums were added to wage increases, the average first-year wage in non-construction contracts increased by 2.4 percent. The median average increase was 2 percent and the weighted average increase was 2.9 percent. Flat-dollar amounts constituted 75 percent of lump sum bonuses, averaging $1,176 in the first year, $783 in the second year, and $1,050 in the third year. Payments based on a percentage of the previous year’s pay made up the other 25 percent of lump sum bonuses, averaging 2.2 percent in the first year and 1.7 percent in the second and third years. No construction contracts included lump sum payments. |
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| Labour Canada reports that collective bargaining agreements provided an average base rate wage increase of 1.7 percent to covered Canadian employees in 2014. The 216 agreements involving 500 or more employees that were reached in 2014 had an average duration of 46.1 months and covered 647,560 employees. Labour Canada additionally reported 17 major work stoppages in 2014, involving 70,674 employees and resulting in 1.25 million person-days not worked. |
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| The UAW agreed to contribute $355 million to a new voluntary employees beneficiary association (VEBA) trust to settle a putative class action lawsuit filed by a group of retirees. The retirees claimed that the UAW refused to settle grievances about changes to their benefit plans in arbitration, in contravention of collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and the Staff Council of International Representatives and the Office of Professional Employees International Union. Under the settlement, the UAW will have no further obligation to provide its present or future retirees with health care benefits, which will instead be administered by the VEBA. The settlement is pending approval by Eastern District of Michigan. Office and Prof’l Emps. Int’l Union, Local Union 49,4 et al. v. United Auto. Aerospace and Agric. Implement Workers of Am., Int’l Union. |
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| Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) have ratified a five-year contract with Norfolk Southern Corp. The contract provides the 4,600 covered workers a 15 percent wage increase over the term of the contract as well as signing bonuses, lump-sum payments, and annual bonuses based on corporate performance. Also covered in the contract are the establishment of an electronic predictable workforce-scheduling system and the continuation of a 30 percent employer match to employees’ 401(k) plans. Worker health and welfare plan terms will be determined by a pending national agreement between the National Carrier’s Conference Committee (the railroads’ bargaining representative) and 13 unions, including BLET. |
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| Kellogg Co. has stated that it may close one of its four U.S. cereal plants following the rejection by members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) union of a proposal to alter a master labor contract. The proposals would require concessions from union members in return for a four-year guarantee that Kellogg would not close any U.S. plants. In a letter asking the BCTGM to reconsider, Kellogg maintains that the proposals are the “only opportunity yet identified to collectively achieve the cost savings necessary to stave off otherwise inevitable plant closures.” BCTGM has not yet restarted talks to revise the master labor contract, which covers about 1,500 employees across the United States and expires in October 2015. |
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| Navistar International Corp. reached a four-year agreement with the UAW to provide annual pay increases, despite the company’s lack of profitability. Under the agreement, employees will receive lump sums equivalent to 3 percent of their pay in the first and third years and a 2 percent raise in their hourly pay in the second and fourth years. Additionally, employees will receive $1,000 signing bonuses and annual $1,000 profit-sharing checks, if the company earns a profit. The contract also requires the production of 75 trucks per day and mandates job rotation, requiring that all employees learn a second job at their work site within 18 months. |
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| United Airlines reached an agreement with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) to outsource about 1,100 fleet-service jobs to contractors. Under the cost-saving agreement, United will retain about 800 fleet-service jobs that were originally targeted for outsourcing. |
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| Members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1109 in Brooklyn, N.Y. ratified a labor contract with Cablevision Systems Corp. following more than three years of acrimony. In the years leading up to the agreement, the CWA filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB, which found that Cablevision illegally discharged employees and illegally discouraged employees from supporting the union. Also prior to the agreement, Cablevision sought to have the union decertified as the workers’ representative. When the NLRB declined to hold a decertification election, the company hired an independent polling company to hold an election, in which workers voted 129-115 against union representation. Union spokesman Michael Rabinowitz-Gold stated that the new contract increases worker wages to “96 percent parity with Cablevision workers throughout the rest of the company.” Workers will also receive the same health and 401(k) plan benefits as other Cablevision workers under the contract. The contract additionally implements a three-step grievance and arbitration procedure and prohibits disciplining or discharging unionized employees except for misconduct or discharge. |
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| International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) Local 1049 tentatively agreed to a contract with National Grid, a Long Island, N.Y. utility. The agreement, which was held up by disagreements about health care and pension benefits, is subject to ratification on March 5th. Under the contract, weekly employee contributions to the health plan will remain the same, but co-pays and co-insurance costs will increase. Additionally, current employees will retain their defined-benefit pension plans, but new hires will fall under a defined-contribution plan. |
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| FairPoint Communications Inc. reached a labor agreement with IBEW Locals 2320, 2326, and 2327 and CWA Local 1400, ending a strike by about 1,800 New England workers that had been ongoing since October 2014. The union workers had been on strike since the company implemented its “final proposals” regarding the outsourcing of work, pension freezes, and changes in retirement and health benefits without union members’ approval. The unions filed several unfair labor practices charges during the dispute, which were dismissed. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service reports that under the agreement, employees will receive “wages and benefits that are among the best” in the region. In addition to addressing 1-2 percent wage increases in 2016 and 2017, the new contract provides that the company will not use subcontractors in a way that results in job losses by union members, closes the defined benefit pension plan to new employees, reduces paid sick leave to six days per year and short-term disability to six months, and prohibits layoffs. Additionally, the agreement provides that employees will participate in a multiemployer medical plan and that workers who retire within 30 months of the contract entering into effect will be paid monthly stipends to pay their own and their spouses’ health insurance premiums. |
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| The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has reached a tentative five-year contract with West Coast ports and the Pacific Maritime Association, ending nine months of negotiations and averting a complete shutdown of the ports, which could have cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day. West Coast ports have been operating at reduced capacity since dockworkers began to slow cargo movement in October 2014, resulting in a backlog that will take six to eight weeks to clear. The agreement, which remains to be approved by union members, covers salaries, pension benefits, health care benefits, grievance procedures, and the right of union members to repair and maintain truck chassis used for hauling shipping containers. The Pacific Maritime Association publicized that the agreement includes raises of 3 percent per year for full-time dockworkers, fully paid health care costing $35,000 per employee per year, and a pension cap raise to $88,800 per year. |
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| Members of Teamsters Local 710 in Mokena, Ill. signed a retroactive five-year contract with United Parcel Service (UPS), covering workers in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. Under a carve-out agreement, Local 710 does not fall under the national master agreement that applies to most UPS workers nationwide. The agreement includes wage increases for full- and part-time workers, switches union members to the Teamster’s health plan offered under the national master agreement, increases vacation pay, and includes language guaranteeing that UPS will “exhaust all reasonable efforts” to use union members over subcontractors. |
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| Shuttle bus drivers represented by Teamsters Local 853 approved a three-year contract with Loop Transportation, which provides transportation services for Facebook. The contract, which Facebook still must accept, will increase average pay to $24.50 per hour, provide work hour guarantees, implement seniority provisions, and address health care and retirement benefits. |
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| Richard F. Griffin, General Counsel for the NLRB, has instructed regional offices to reimbursement of job search costs and work-related expenses that employees incur due to violations of the NLRA. Memorandum GC 15-01. |
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| Mr. Griffin also issued guidance to NLRB regional offices on applying new arbitration deferral standards in the wake of the Board’s Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co. decision. In the decision, the Board stated that it would defer to arbitral decisions where “(1) the arbitrator was explicitly authorized to decide the unfair labor practice issue; (2) the arbitrator was presented with and considered the statutory issue, or was prevented from doing so by the party opposing deferral; and (3) Board law reasonably permits the award.” Mr. Griffin’s guidance provides pattern letters for communicating with parties about deferral in unfair labor practices cases and describes situations in which regional offices should submit cases to the Board’s Division of Advice. Memorandum GC 15-02. |
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| An NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has ordered Novelis Corporation to recognize and bargain with the USW, despite the latter having lost an NLRB-supervised representation election by 14 votes. The ALJ made the unusual decision after finding that Novelis repeatedly violated the NLRA leading up to the vote, resulting in the union’s defeat. Among the “hallmark violations” noted by the ALJ were “threats of plant closure, threats of loss of employment, the grant of benefits to employees, and the reassignment, demotion, or discharge of union adherents.” Novelis Corporation. |
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| The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the Illinois Central Railroad Co.’s request for a permanent injunction against the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE), a division of the Teamsters. The injunction was granted to avoid irreparable harm to Illinois Central, which would occur were the BMWE to follow through with a threatened strike over a dispute about retroactive pay increases. The dispute arose from the implementation of a new collective bargaining agreement. In granting the injunction, the judge found that the dispute concerned the interpretation of a labor contract, making it a “minor” dispute under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The judge further granted summary judgment to Illinois Central, holding that under the RLA, such minor disputes must be resolved through arbitration. Illinois Cent. R.R. Co. v. Teamsters. |
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| An Ohio jury awarded a nurse $2 million in her lawsuit against Affinity Medical Center for defamation of character. The lawsuit arose from Affinity firing nurse Ann Wayt and seeking to have her license revoked in retaliation for her organizing efforts at a for-profit hospital. Wayt was previously restored to her position and awarded back pay and restitution of benefit losses by an ALJ, who also ordered the hospital to cease its efforts to have Wayt’s license revoked. The jury awarded Wayt $800,000 in compensatory damages, $750,000 in punitive damages, and all legal costs. Wayt v. Community Health Sys. Inc. |
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| The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina granted summary judgment to Durham School Services LP, a school bus company, in a dispute with Teamsters, Local 509, which represents school bus drivers and aides. Durham sued the union after a union-management grievance panel was unable to determine whether cleaning and repair work was fairly claimable by the union as bargaining unit work. The court held that the union was liable under section 303(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA) for violating section 8(b)(4) of the NLRA by pressuring the school bus company to cease doing business with outside entities that provided cleaning and repair services. Durham is entitled to yet-to-be-determined damages. Durham Sch. Servs., LP v. Teamsters Local 509. |
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| A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded an NLRB order directing Ozark Automotive Distributors Inc. to bargain with its route drivers, represented by the Teamsters, Local 166, following a representation election. The court held that the NLRB erred in vacating subpoenas filed by Ozark Automotive in its appeal of the election. Ozark Automotive sought to prove that union agents engaged in threats, harassment, and coercion in their effort to win the election. Citing the General Counsel’s Guide for Hearing Officers, the court stated that the NLRB hearing officer should have conducted an in-camera review of the evidence sought by Ozark Automotive. O’Reilly Auto Parts v. NLRB. |
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| The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a preliminary injunction forcing a Jobs Corps center to hire a residential advisor while the NLRB determines whether the candidate was denied employment because of her history as a union officer, in violation of the NLRA. The court issued the injunction because it was satisfied that the NLRB was likely to find that Adams & Associates Inc. was aware that Genesther Taylor was a union president at Horizon Youth Services, a predecessor firm, and that Adams did not hire her for that reason. Adams stated that Taylor was unqualified for the position and that she was “inappropriate and quite demanding” in her interview. Frankl v. Adams & Assocs., Inc. |
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| The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved an agreement between the Teamsters and federal prosecutors that will phase out federal oversight of the union’s internal affairs over the next five years. The Teamsters have been under federal supervision since 1989 pursuant to a consent decree that resulted from a civil lawsuit against the Teamsters under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. |
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| An ALJ held that United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 135 violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the NLRA by requiring employees of Ralph’s Grocery Co. to show up at the union’s office to voice their objections to paying full membership dues under a collective bargaining agreement. The union attempted to justify the policy by arguing that it had a legitimate interest in meeting new employees to inform them about the benefits of union membership. ALJ Amita Baman Tracy determined that the policy, under which employees were misled into believing that they could be fired for not visiting the union office, illegally restrained and coerced the employees. The ALJ additionally found that the union violated the NLRA by failing to provide an employee with a detailed apportionment of its expenditures for representational and non-representational activities. Ralph’s Grocery Co. |
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| Associate General Counsel Barry J. Kearney of the NLRB’s Division of Advice released a memorandum rejecting a claim that Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. violated an employee’s right to union representation by searching the employee’s company vehicle outside of the presence of a union representative. The Division of Advice determined that the employee was not entitled to union representation because the vehicle search was not an interview or a continuation of an interview. The search for marijuana, which instead led to the discovery of a pornographic DVD, resulted in a written warning for the employee. Sw. Bell Tel. Co. |
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| A divided NLRB held that Battle’s Transportation Inc. violated Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA by requiring that its employees sign confidentiality agreements that were interpreted as prohibiting employees from discussing their employment conditions or participating in complaints or investigations related to their employment. The agreement barred disclosure of confidential information “belonging to the employer,” including “human resources related information,” information related to investigations by outside agencies,” and financial information. NLRB Member Harry I. Johnson dissented, determining that a reasonable reading of the agreement confirmed that Battle’s employees were not limited in exercising their NLRA-guaranteed rights. All three members agreed, however, that Battle’s violated the NLRA by issuing a memorandum stating that employees were “not to communicate any [of] Battle’s company business with [their] clients,” holding that the reference to “company business” would be interpreted by employees to restrict their discussion of their own employment conditions. Battle’s Transp., Inc. |
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| In his State of the State address, Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner proposed multiple labor law reforms intended to reduce costs and improve state and local government efficiency. Among the Governor’ proposals are creating localized right-to-work zones, limiting prevailing wage requirements and eliminating project labor agreements in public works projects, and cracking down on unemployment benefit fraud and the abuse of the workers’ compensation system. He also proposed loosening tenure laws and implementing performance rewards for teachers, overhauling public retirement systems to shift current government workers to Section 401(k) plans, and prohibiting public sector unions that have collective bargaining agreements with State or local government from making campaign contributions. Governor Rauner further suggested increasing Illinois’ minimum wage by $.25 a year from the current $7.25 to $10.00 in 2022. Union leaders and Democrats, who control both houses of Illinois’s General Assembly, are skeptical of the proposals. |
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| As promised in his State of the State address, Governor Rauner signed an executive order to block unions from requiring state workers to pay to support union activities. Citing the recent U.S. Supreme Court case Harris v. Quinn, the Governor stated that forcing state employees to support union activities is unconstitutional. The Governor simultaneously filed a declaratory judgment action in the Northern District of Illinois. State employees presently pay an average of $577 each in what have been called “fair share” payments to unions, regardless of whether the employees agree with the unions’ political activities. More than 6,500 Illinois state employees are forced to pay the fees despite having refused union membership. |
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| Colorado legislators failed to pass right-to-work legislation for the third time since 2013. In a 6-5 vote, the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee defeated the proposal, which would have prohibited employers from requiring employees to pay dues, fees, or other assessments to any third party, including labor unions and charities. Under the proposed legislation, all existing provisions that require union membership as a condition of employment would be voided. |
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| Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate have challenged new NLRB rules governing representation elections through a joint resolution filed under the Congressional Review Act. The new rules, passed by the NLRB in a 3-2 vote, will accelerate representation elections by allowing unions to transmit election petitions electronically, by requiring pre-election hearings within seven days of filing petitions, and by postponing voter eligibility and other disputes until after elections are complete. Congressional Republicans argue that the new rules are intended stack the odds in favor of unions, but President Obama is likely to veto the joint resolution. The U.S. Chamber of Congress and other business groups have also challenged the rule in federal district courts in the District of Columbia and Texas, arguing that the rule is arbitrary, contrary to the NLRA, and violative of free speech rights. Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB; Assoc. Builders & Contractors of Texas, Inc. v. NLRB. |
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| The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the NLRB’s new election rules at which a former Board member described the rules as “no less than an attempt by the NLRB to put its thumb on the scale in favor of union representation”. Similarly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses argued that the changes would significantly hinder the ability of businesses to respond to the filing of election petitions. While union attorneys claimed that the current election system allows some employers to delay proceedings, Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander stated that he did not see a need for the changes as the board has achieved a median time of 38 days between petitions and elections and because 95 percent of elections take place within 56 days of the filing of petitions. |
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| Pro-business organizations and individual franchise business owners have formed the Coalition to Save Local Businesses to combat NLRB efforts to expand joint employer liability. The NLRB’s anticipated ruling in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. is expected to implement a “totality of the circumstances” joint liability standard, instead of the current “direct control” standard. The Coalition, which along with individual businesses includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, and the International Franchise Association, argues that the change would increase litigation and costs and would cause uncertainty for businesses. While the Coalition intends to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to maintain the current standard, any proposed legislation would be likely to face legislative hurdles or a presidential veto. |
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| Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Todd Rokita introduced legislation to amend the NLRA to allow employers to pay bonuses and merit pay to employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. The Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act would allow employers to “pay[] an employee in [a bargaining] unit greater wages, pay, or other compensation for, or by reason of, his or her services as an employee of such employer, than provided for in such contract or agreement.” Similar legislation has been introduced, but failed to pass, in recent years. Unions and civil rights groups have historically characterized similar legislation as attempts to undermine collective bargaining and to undercut the pay of minority workers. Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, stated that “[t]his bill will give employers the freedom to pay their employees more for a job well done, for their dedication and hard work, rather than for their time spent in a union.” |
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| Wisconsin is expected to pass fast-track right-to-work legislation in an “extraordinary session,” becoming the 25th state to enact a right-to-work statute. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has stated that he has the necessary 17 votes to pass the legislation in the Senate. The State Assembly, where Republicans control 63 of 99 seats, will take action once the Senate has passed the bill. Governor Scott Walker, who in 2011 championed public sector union reform through Wisconsin Act 10, is widely expected to sign the legislation. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos stated that the public “widely supports worker freedom” and noted that the legislation could positively impact the state’s economy. Democratic Assembly Representative Lisa Subeck alleges that the fast-tracked legislation is intended to “keep the public in the dark”, while Wisconsin AFL-CIO president Phil Neuenfeldt characterizes the legislation as “anti-worker”. |
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| In a letter to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, Governor Walker rejected a plan to construct a casino on non-tribal lands in Kenosha, Wis. The Menominee Indian Tribe and London-based Hard Rock International proposed the project, for which the UCFW had agreed to cancel a card-check agreement, which would have allowed casino workers to choose union representation by signing authorization cards instead of through an NLRB election. Governor Walker said that “the long-term economic hit [from the project] to the state budget would be a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.” |
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| At a press briefing on the opening day of the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting, federation President Richard Trumka stated that raising wages for union-represented and non-represented workers will remain at the center of the AFL-CIO’s agenda. The federation will focus its efforts in the South in particular, where organized labor is less prevalent. During the meeting, the executive council will, among other things, discuss the establishment of a “labor commission on race and social justice issues.” |
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| In a 37-30 party-line vote, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed right-to-work legislation that would prohibit, as a condition of hiring, promotion, or continued employment, requiring a person to become or remain a member of a labor organization or to “pay dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to a labor organization or to a charity or other third party, in lieu of payment to a labor organization.” House Republicans and Republican Governor Susana Martinez strongly support the bill, but Democrats, who control the Senate, vow to block the legislation. When fair share workers are included in the count, about 7.5 percent of New Mexico’s workers are unionized. The bill includes a $.50 raise in the minimum wage to $8.00. |
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| In the absence of guidance on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost “Cadillac” health plans, negotiations for collectively bargained plans face uncertainty. Beginning in 2018, health plans that provide coverage more than $10,200 for individuals or more than $27,500 for families will be taxed at 40 percent of the portion of the plan that exceeds those amounts. Employers and unions are seeking specific guidance on how the tax will be applied in practice as many collectively bargained health plans that are currently being negotiated will be in place through 2018. |
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| A North Carolina district attorney has requested that the State Bureau of Investigation inquire into the alleged corruption of Dana Cope, a member of SEIU’s International Executive Board and the Executive Director of the SEIU-affiliated State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC). Cope resigned from his positions under the spectre of allegations that he misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union’s bank account, that he misused company credit cards, and that he spent union funds on home renovations and flying lessons. SEANC represents about 55,000 current and retired North Carolina State employees. |
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April 9, 2015 |
| eLunch Internal Investigations |
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| May 14, 2015 |
| eLunch Hiring right – Covering Interviewing and Background Checks |
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| June 11, 2015 |
| The Baby Boom – A Primer on Pregnancy Laws |
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| February 24, 2015 |
| DOL Updates FMLA’s Definition of Spouse: Extending Coverage to Eligible Employees in Same-Sex Marriages |
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| February 18, 2015 |
| Philadelphia Enacts Paid Sick Leave Ordinance |
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| February 17, 2015 |
| New D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Act Creates New Requirements, Stiffer Penalties |
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| February 5, 2015 |
| Keep Your Counsel, Volume 2, Issue 1 |
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| February 3, 2015 |
| OFCCP Issues Proposed Regulations Updating Sex Discrimination Rules |
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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 Department attorneys listed here: |
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