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Labor Relations / Unions

California Supreme Court grants new free-Speech power to unions and customers

02/01/2008

The California Supreme Court has ruled that unions and their supporters generally are free to urge customers shopping in private malls to boycott retailers at that mall. The ruling builds on earlier decisions that held that free-speech rights granted to California citizens in the state constitution are broader than those in the U.S. Constitution …

No employee right to use company e-Mail for union organizing

02/01/2008

The National Labor Relations Board has concluded that employers are free to forbid employee use of their systems for “nonjob-related solicitations.” The long-awaited decision says that an employer has the right to restrict use of its e-mail system based on its property interest in the computer equipment …

Union setback as court finds Smithfield didn’t abuse workers

02/01/2008

A federal appeals court has overturned a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision and ruled that security personnel at the Tar Heel plant of Smithfield Foods did not mistreat employees who worked for a cleaning contractor during a November 2003 protest …

Indianapolis Navistar employees return to work after strike

02/01/2008

A seven-week strike by United Auto Workers (UAW) against Warrenville, IL-based truck and engine maker Navistar International Inc. ended in December. The union’s contract expired on Oct. 1, but employees worked through Oct. 23 before walking out on the company’s engine plants in Illinois and Indianapolis …

Former union treasurer sentenced to prison for embezzlement

02/01/2008

A former treasurer of Local 900 of the Federal Independent Texas Union (FITU) was recently ordered to serve a 21-month prison sentence for embezzling $164,268 in union funds. The FITU represents employees at Lockheed Aerospace Corp. in Fort Worth …

May we forbid employees to talk about how much they get paid?

02/01/2008
Q. My company has a policy prohibiting all workers from discussing their pay with other employees. Is this legal?

Washington Update: News from the NLRB, EEOC and USCIS

01/15/2008

The New Year often brings a flurry of activity from the many federal government agencies that address employment issues, and 2008 is no exception. We’ve got good news on employers’ control over workplace e-mail, bad news for employers who discriminate and mixed news for those who want to hire foreign workers.

Judge denies TWU bid to regain dues check-Off rights

01/01/2008

Brooklyn State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Balter flatly denied the Transport Workers Union of America’s (TWU) request to resume automatic dues deductions after the union failed to renounce its right to strike …

Steelworkers sue over WARN Act violations

01/01/2008

The United Steelworkers union filed a complaint against Meridian Automotive Systems Inc., claiming the company violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it permanently laid off workers at its Jackson, OH, plant in August of 2007 …

Right to have a witness during discipline

01/01/2008

Q. We have a nonunion shop. It is not uncommon for our employees to insist that they have the right to have a witness present during investigatory interviews and disciplinary action meetings. I have heard conflicting answers to whether employees in a nonunion facility have the right to have a witness present during investigatory and disciplinary interviews. Can you clear up the confusion for me? …