A recent decision of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals does not break any new ground on the law of decertification, but it provides a great reminder of what employers cannot do when the issue of decertification arises. In All Seasons Climate Control, Inc. vs. NLRB, 196 LRRM 2774 (6th Cir. 2013), the Court of Appeals upheld the decision of an NLRB administrative law judge who found that the employer had encouraged and assisted an…
READ MOREThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has updated their website with a summary of decisions for the week of Sept. 3-6, 2013. The summary of NLRB decisions can be accessed by visiting the NLRB’s website here, or by clicking on the link below. National Labor Relations Board: Summary of Decisions for Sept. 3-6, 2013. Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively…
READ MOREA Lake County Indiana judge recently determined that Indiana’s right-to-work law violates a provision in the state constitution barring the delivery of services “without just compensation.” On Feb. 11, 2013, Plaintiffs – including the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 AFL-CIO – filed a judicial complaint alleging, among other things, that Indiana’s Right to Work Law violates Article I, Section 21 of the Indiana Constitution. Article I, Section 21 provides: “No person’s particular services…
READ MOREOn Sept. 4, 2013, the D.C. Circuit summarily rejected a petition by the NLRB for rehearing in NAM v. NLRB, the case decided in May which struck down the NLRB’s controversial posting rule based on the fact that its enforcement measures violated the limits of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Following the D.C. Circuit’s invalidation of the posting rule in May, the Fourth Circuit similarly found the rule invalid in June and on Aug. 13, 2013, similarly refused to rehear…
READ MOREThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has updated their website with a summary of decisions for the week of Aug. 26-30, 2013. The summary of NLRB decisions can be accessed by visiting the NLRB’s website here, or by clicking on the link below. National Labor Relations Board: Summary of Decisions for Aug. 26-30, 2013. Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively…
READ MOREThe NLRB has been taking its hits lately from federal judges on everything from recess appointments to its proposed notice posting rule, but last week the punch came from within after an NLRB Administrative Law Judge issued a decision chiding the Board and NLRB General Counsel for their lack of “intellectual integrity.” The case, decided by ALJ William G. Kocol, involved standards for deferral of NLRB charges to arbitration, but is notable for Judge Kocol’s rancor toward…
READ MOREIn the midst of ongoing contract negotiations, the Chicago Newspaper Guild has filed a ULP charge against the Sun-Times newspaper group alleging that the company is using a non-union company to perform work reserved for bargaining unit employees. According to the union’s website, it is alleging that the newspaper group’s parent company shares ownership with the non-union entity which is performing the bargaining unit work. The newspaper group’s parent company denies the allegations and maintains that it…
READ MOREJust in time for Labor Day, unions organized one-day strikes at fast food locations around the country yesterday to demand higher wages. Thursday’s protests follow similar walk-outs in July and May of this year. As we have previously reported, this type of one-day strike is evidence of unions’ changing models for labor organizing aimed at combating the decline of union membership nationwide. Thursday’s protests were supported and funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). And it…
READ MOREIn what could be the first salvo in the NLRB’s latest assault, the NLRB Division of Advice has recommended that an NLRB Regional Director issue a complaint against a call center company (Alpine Access) for the restrictions it placed on employee use of the company’s e-mail system. The Advice Division not only concluded that the actions taken by the employer were unlawful under current Board authority in the Register Guard case, the advice memorandum went…
READ MOREThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has updated their website with a summary of decisions for the week of Aug. 19-23, 2013. The summary of NLRB decisions can be accessed by visiting the NLRB’s website here, or by clicking on the link below. National Labor Relations Board: Summary of Decisions for Aug. 19-23, 2013. Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively…
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