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Labor Relations / Unions

IWW gets 2nd shot to represent Twin Cities fast-food workers

02/09/2011
One of the few union organizing efforts in the fast-food business will get another chance. The Industrial Workers of the World lost an October 2010 unionization vote at Twin Cities area Jimmy John’s restaurants. But unfair labor practices charges against the franchisee who owns the 10 restaurants mean a new vote is likely in coming months.

NLRB sanctions Toledo industrial cleaning company

02/09/2011
The National Labor Relations Board has come down hard on Toledo-based Bebley Enterprises, ruling that the company illegally terminated a collective bargaining agreement, stopped contributing to the union’s benefit program, quit collecting union dues and harassed employees who were loyal to the union.

NLRB settlement suggests employee Facebook posts are protected

02/08/2011
The National Labor Relations Board has settled with a company that fired an employee for posting negative comments about a boss on her Facebook page. The case seems to signal that employee communications that happen via social media constitute protected activity under federal law. Does your social media policy go too far?

Irked over stagnant pay, N.Y. judges favor ‘union’

02/02/2011
New York state judges have gone 12 years without a pay raise, making some of them a little hot under the robes. A survey conducted by two state judicial groups indicates that an overwhelming number of judges favor an association that could negotiate wages and benefits—in effect, a union.

No litigating related claims in separate venues

01/28/2011
The Court of Appeal of California has ruled that employees can’t pursue related claims in different forums at the same time.

No separate notice for nonmembers required for midyear union dues assessment

01/28/2011
What happens if a union passes a dues increase in the middle of the year—perhaps in an election year? Can the union collect the increased amount and then adjust it at the beginning of the next year? According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, that’s exactly the way to handle the increase.

Union wants nonmember employee names? Send opt-out forms so employees can choose

01/28/2011

When a union asks an employer for the names and contact information of employees who do not belong to the union, employers must first inform the employees of the request and give them an opportunity to object, according to a recent California Court of Appeal decision.

NLRB to decide: Are Facebook posts protected discussions?

01/26/2011
Let’s say one of your union employees has used her own computer to make negative comments about her supervisor on her personal Facebook page. Co-workers—Facebook friends of the employee—see the posts and start chiming in with further smears. Can you lawfully terminate these employees for violating your social media policy? Probably not.

SCLC gets involved in Dana Corp. discrimination claims

01/11/2011
Bishop Richard E. Cox, president of the Dayton chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a member of the group’s national board, has intervened in a dispute between Maumee-based Dana Corp., the union that represents workers there and black current and former employees.

Proceed with care during union negotiations

01/07/2011

Here’s a warning to employers facing a union for the first time. Get an attorney right away and rely on his or her advice to guide your actions. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has just issued a tough decision requiring an employer to rehire employees it terminated during a strike.