On April 7, 2022, in a move that could dramatically alter long-established employer tactics in union organizing campaigns, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum announcing that she will ask the Board to find what are commonly known as “captive audience” meetings to constitute an unfair labor practice (ULP) under
Unions
Biden Administration Acts to Promote Unions
On February 7, 2022, the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment publicly released its report to President Joe Biden, offering nearly 70 recommendations to promote pro-union policies and practices in the public and private sectors. The Task Force, chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, embodies President Biden’s vow to be the “most pro-union President”…
NLRB’s General Counsel Encourages Injunctive Relief for Anti-Union Threats
On February 1, 2022 National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced an initiative to seek injunctions under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act in cases “where workers have been subject to threats or other coercive conduct during an organizing campaign.” According to her memo, Abruzzo opines that, “because threats or…
NLRB Outlines Employers’ Duty to Bargain Over Implementation of OSHA ETS
On November 10, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a Memorandum outlining employers’ duty to bargain with unions over the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS).
The Memo provides that employers have bargaining obligations regarding aspects of the ETS that affect terms and conditions…
NLRB General Counsel Says Certain College Athletes are Protected by Federal Labor Law
In a statement that portends additional scrutiny of the “working conditions” of college and university athletes, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has publicly stated her view that scholarship athletes at academic institutions are employees who have the right to organize and to be protected from discrimination and retaliation when they act…
NLRB Makes Settlement More Difficult
On September 15, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s General Counsel instructed regional offices to take a more aggressive stance in settlement negotiations in unfair labor practice cases, seeking broader remedies for workers.
In GC Memorandum 21-07, which builds upon GC Memorandum 21-06 issued last week, new NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo encouraged…
New NLRB General Counsel Announces Agenda to Strengthen Workplace Rights
On August 12, 2021, the new General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), Jennifer Abruzzo, announced her intention to target certain legal decisions issued in the last four years that she described as “doctrinal shifts” away from settled law, and a set of older decisions that she would like to “carefully…
NLRB Will See a Shift in Majority After Senate Confirms Wilcox and Prouty to Board Seats
Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty to seats on the National Labor Relations Board (Board). These confirmations seal the deal on a Democratic majority on the Board and undoubtedly will mean re-visiting much of the Board precedent established under the Trump-era Board (which, in turn, had overturned many of the …
Scabby the Rat Lives and Joins Secondary Protests
On July 21, 2021, in a 3-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruled that a union does not violate federal labor law with the display of the infamous “Scabby the Rat,” and other similar inflatable symbols, at workplaces that do not employ those union’s workers. Former NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump…
SCOTUS Rules Against Unions On California Farm Access
The United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) has dealt a blow to organized labor, striking down as unconstitutional a California law that permitted union organizers access to agricultural company land to speak with workers.
Two California growers, Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company, filed suit in federal district court, seeking to enjoin enforcement of…