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04 May 2017 Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of April 24-28

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  The summary of NLRB decisions for the week of April 24-28 is now available.   Summarized Board Decisions   Diamond Trucking, Inc.  (25-CA-144424; 365 NLRB No. 64)  Peru, IN, April 25, 2017.   The Board (Members Pearce and McFerran; Chairman Miscimarra, dissenting) granted the General Counsel’s exceptions to the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusion that the Union did not have an objective, factual basis for believing that an alter-ego relationship existed to establish the relevance of…

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03 May 2017 Persuader Rule Still in Limbo

Federal Laws and Legislation | Adam Bartrom

  Earlier this week, the Trump administration told a Minnesota district court judge that it needs additional time – until July 3 – to file the government’s position on the Persuader Rule. The administration said “[t]he United States Department of Labor still awaits the arrival of key political leadership prior to making final decisions as to the issues raised by this litigation . . . .”   Meanwhile, further south, a Texas district court judge’s decision…

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01 May 2017 NLRB Appointments in the Works?

National Labor Relations Board | Gerald Lutkus

  Published reports indicate that two appointments are in the works for the NLRB that will bring the Board up to its full complement and finally swing the Board’s majority back to the Republicans.   Bloomberg BNA is reporting that the Trump Administration has narrowed the field down to Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel to fill the two openings on the Board.  Kaplan is an attorney for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an…

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27 Apr 2017 Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of April 10-14

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  The summary of NLRB decisions for the week of April 10-14 is now available.   Summarized Board Decisions   Aqua-Aston Hospitality, LLC d/b/a Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel and Hotel Renew  (20-CA-154749, et al.; 365 NLRB No. 53)  Honolulu, HI, April 10, 2017.   The Board adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusions that the Respondent violated: (1) Sections 8(a)(3) and (1) by issuing two employees written warnings for engaging in protected activity; and (2) Section…

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26 Apr 2017 Trump Appoints Miscimarra as Chairman of NLRB

National Labor Relations Board | Scott Witlin

  President Trump has named Philip A. Miscimarra Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Chairman Miscimarra had been acting chairman since Jan. 23, 2017.  The position, while largely administrative, may bode well for Miscimarra’s renomination to a new term. Chairman Miscimarra’s term expires on Dec. 16, 2017.  Two seats on the five-member board remain vacant.   Scott WitlinScott J. Witlin is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Barnes & Thornburg and a member of…

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21 Apr 2017 Union Body Count and Big Spending

Unions and Union Membership | Keith Brodie

  Last year, some of the country’s biggest unions continue to hemorrhage membership, while others spent big dollars on organizing for modest gains in membership. In 2016, the union membership body count was not insignificant. According to LM-2 filings:   Steelworkers lost 20,000 members United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) lost nearly 14,000 members Teamsters lost almost 5,800 members Machinists lost nearly 5,500 members   This continues a trend seen over the last decades. The…

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18 Apr 2017 Union Wins Representation Vote in Atlanta Area

National Labor Relations Board | John Koenig

  In a reminder to Georgia employers not to take the state’s typically low unionization rates for granted, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a union has won the right to represent workers at an Atlanta-area logistics and distribution center. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union won the representation election 49-46 at a Nestlé facility in McDonough, Georgia.   While the overall unionization rate in the private sector in Georgia is very low (around 3…

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18 Apr 2017 Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of April 3 – 7

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  The summary of NLRB decisions for the week of April 3-7 is now available.   Summarized Board Decisions   Saint Xavier University  (13-RC-092296; 365 NLRB No. 54)  Chicago, IL, April 6, 2017.   The Board (Members Pearce and McFerran; Acting Chairman Miscimarra, dissenting) found that the Board has jurisdiction over housekeepers employed by the Employer, a self-identified religious educational institution.  Applying Hanna Boys Center, 284 NLRB 1080 (1987), the Board found that it will…

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17 Apr 2017 NLRB Invalidates Another Employer Arbitration Agreement – But NOT Under D.R. Horton

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  On April 13, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) invalidated yet another employer arbitration program. This time, however, the NLRB did not do so under its infamous D.R. Horton case. In Dish Network, LLC, the NLRB struck down an arbitration agreement an employer used with its workforce because: 1) as drafted, employees would reasonably construe it as limiting or prohibiting them from filing charges with the NLRB; and 2) a confidentiality provision within the…

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14 Apr 2017 Tax Breaks for Union Members Despite New York’s Financial Problems

Unions and Union Membership | Keith Brodie

  New York’s Legislature is giving union dues payers a tax break. While a number of states (and even municipalities) have passed right-to-work laws so union workers do not have to forcibly pay union dues, New York has taken a decidedly different approach. On April 10, New York passed a law allowing union dues and agency fees to be completely tax deductible, effectively giving a tax break to union members.   New York’s union “dues deduction”…

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