Labor Relations / Unions

You don’t have to bargain with union formed by coercion

09/01/2002

During an organizing campaign at a clay processing plant, pro-union senior staffers routinely threatened production and maintenance employees, telling them to support the union or else they’d be “squeezed like a …

NLRB shake-up may cause reversals on key cases

09/01/2002

You can expect some good news from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Reason: If the Senate confirms a new slate of Bush appointees to the NLRB, it will be the …

High court: Weingarten rights stand; state family leave case on docket

08/01/2002

It’s official: Employees have the right, even in nonunion workplaces, to bring a co-worker as a witness to an investigative meeting that could result in discipline. Nonunion employees won …

To beat the union heat, avoid 7 deadly management sins

08/01/2002

Why do some employers manage to operate their company in a union-free environment, while others in the same industry and city have a unionized work force? The reasons fit into …

Religious bias: No special exceptions to union pact

06/01/2002

Trucker David Virts refused to work with women during “sleeper runs” because of his religious beliefs. After his first refusal, he was warned. After his second refusal, the company fired him. …

Toughen your hiring policy to help neutralize union ‘salts’

05/01/2002

In applying for a job with a heating and air conditioning company, an applicant stated that he had been laid off from his previous job. But the truth was that the …

You don’t have to accommodate bogus religious beliefs

04/01/2002

David Cruz claimed that his religious belief as a Seventh-day Adventist prohibited him from joining a union. He complained to his employer about union practices and was fired at the union’s …

Court upholds workers’ right to bring co-worker to meeting

12/01/2001

A federal appeals court has upheld a controversial labor rule that gives employees the right, even in nonunion workplaces, to bring a co-worker along with them during an investigative meeting …

Worker’s outburst wins NLRA protection

11/01/2001

Disciplining an employee who protests working conditions at your company will put you at risk of being charged with an unfair labor practice, even if you’re a nonunion employer. Case in …

Don’t leave victim in doubt about response to harassment