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Late last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in D.R. Horton, Inc., ruling that companies cannot prevent employees from bringing workplace grievances as a class in all judicial venues under mandatory arbitration agreements. The decision didn’t come as much of a shock to anyone familiar with the details of the case. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have full freedom to come together and engage in concerted activity to address workplace concerns. In clear violation of the Act, D.R. Horton enforced its arbitration agreement by dividing a group of workers facing overtime violations into single units. In other words, workers had to seek justice as individuals rather than as a group—even though they shared the same complaint against their employer. Read more »         When Craig Becker’s recess term on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expired in December, the outlook didn’t look good for workers in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the NLRB needs three members to exercise its authority, so without new appointees, the Board would have been forced to shut down—leaving workers and employers alike in the lurch. But yesterday, President Obama announced the recess appointments of Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn, and Richard Griffin to the NLRB. Read more » It’s been quite a year for workers. From Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., on the football field and the factory floor, we’ve seen unprecedented attacks on workers’ rights from Big Business and corporate-backed politicians. But we’ve also seen the resurgence of a movement to ensure fairness for all Americans and the beginnings of a great political awakening for the 99 percent. We wanted to take time to reflect on the events of 2011, so we came up with this list of the top five best and worst moments for workers this year. Read more » Yesterday was a big day for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—and for workers’ rights. First, the Board voted to approve a resolution that includes some but not all of the proposals set forth in its recent rule to ensure a fairer union election process for workers. Several hours later, corporate-backed politicians in the U.S. House of Representatives struck back with a bill that, rather than addressing the problems in the current union election process, mandates a delay. This “Election Prevention Act” stands almost no chance of passing the Senate (whew!) but it certainly shows just how far anti-worker lawmakers are willing to go to pad the pockets of the 1 percent, even when it comes at the expense of their constituents. This August the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a rule that requires private sector employers to post a notice advising employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—rights they’ve had for more than 70 years. Like other notices of workplace laws regarding safety and health, compensation, and discrimination, the poster raises awareness without unduly burdening employers. But anti-worker politicians and corporate interest groups are up in arms over this modest step forward for everyday Americans. So we put together this short video on the poster to expose the right-wing hysteria for what it really is: political theater intended to undermine even the most basic protections for the 99 percent. Read more » Americans are sending a clear message to legislators: It’s time to work for the 99 percent again, not corporate interests. But right-wing politicians in Congress aren’t listening.
National Journal recently reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to create a new division focused exclusively on confronting regulatory bodies. In the words of Chamber president Tom Donahue, “We cannot allow this nation to move from a government of the people to a government of regulators.” Allow me to summon my inner Gob Bluth and respond to the Chamber’s rhetoric with an emphatic “C’mon!” Of course, Donahue is right when he says that we are a nation of people. And because we are a nation of people, we have created a system of rules that govern our society. These rules cover, among other things, personal conduct. For example, as a people, we don’t tolerate murder, rape, or robbery. But we also have rules about our conduct in other settings, including the business world. Read more » The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) broke new ground this week, filing a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut for firing an emergency medical technician who posted a criticism of her boss on her Facebook profile. The NLRB’s decision comes at a time when employers are increasing their use of social networking websites to keep an eye on their workers—and prospective employees. The company in question, an ambulance service provider, accused Dawnmarie Souza of violating a policy that prohibits workers from portraying the company “in any way” on social media websites like Facebook. Then they fired her. Read more » Justice prevailed in El Paso, Texas yesterday. For the first time in 35 years, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an NLRB injunction, which requires a garbage collection and disposal company to rehire 32 union-supporting employees. In the fall of 2007, the employees of El Paso Disposal (EPD) went on strike after the company refused to bargain with their union, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). Within a week, EPD hired a team of strikebreakers to replace the union members. By December, the union offered to end the strike and return to work, but EPD refused to re-hire them. Read more » When t The 310 workers at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company have been members of a small, independent union for over 40 years. But when they decided to merge with the larger Teamsters Local 150 back in April, the management at the factory refused to recognize their newly-affiliated union as a bargaining representative. But now management has agreed to settle with the workers, only a week before the situation was to go before an administrative law judge from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). According to the settlement, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company must bargain in good faith with the Teamsters, process union grievances, and pay the union dues for which the employees had authorized payroll deduction. In other words, it’s got to follow the law. Coca-Cola workers are not the only ones who achieved victory lately. Two weeks ago the Board ordered Regis Corporation, owners of salons like Cost Cutters and Master Cuts, to cease threatening to fire workers if they tried to join a union. They’re showing Big Business that workers’ have the right to organize and collectively bargain. |
Posts Tagged ‘National Labor Relations Board’
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