Decertification of a union is nearly impossible for employees to achieve under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). An existing “Straw Man” procedure makes the process confusing and intimidating, requiring employees of a given class — pilots, baggage handlers, etc. — to run an RLA representative with at least 50 percent of employee signatures to force…
In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act amended the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to allow states to enact right-to-work statutes. 28 states have since adopted those laws (state-wide laws are pictured above in green; blue holds local right-to-work laws), and union membership has been declining since. In the 1950s, 35 percent of the workforce held union…
Mark Gaston Pearce, who had previously served as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair, has withdrawn his name from consideration for a renewed term on the Board. The pro-union Democrat served two terms under the Obama administration, and although President Trump nominated him in August to serve an additional term, the nomination expired at the end…
On January 31, the National Mediation Board (NMB) published a proposed rule and request for comments to amend its regulations to provide for decertification of labor unions. This move intends to make the decertification process for unions as simple as certification. At present, the NMB administers the Railway Labor Act and certifies unions upon request…
On January 17, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairman John F. Ring responded to the January 8 letter from Chairman Bobby Scott (Education and Labor Committee) and Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee) that urged the Board to withdraw its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on…
As autonomous driving is becoming a reality, expected to become the norm on our roads, the availability of self-driving trucks leaves open questions about what will happen to employees and their unions. Using a hypothetical transportation company, Littler Publications attempts to answer these questions with a full legal analysis of the possible future we may…
The National Labor Relations Board has released their 2019-2022 strategic plan, which contains four mission-related goals. Those goals include: Achieving a 20% increase in case processing time for unfair labor practice charges (5% each year over 4 years) Achieving resolution of a larger number of representation cases within 100 days of filing an election petition Achieving organizational…
The National Right to Work Foundation has sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week requesting that the Board address doctrines that make it difficult for employees to hold union decertification votes. At a recent American Bar Association Conference, Board Members made statements that the NLRB intends to use rulemaking to change…
Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed a new bill, called the “Stop Walmart Act,” that would force WalMart and other large employers like them to pay a minimum wage of $15 an hour to their employees if they wish to buy back their company’s stock. They would also have to provide seven days of paid sick…
Speaking at the American Bar Association’s 12th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, National Labor Relations Board Chairman John Ring touted his affinity for rulemaking and hinted at more to come, including possible regulations for union/employee access to employer property. He is quoted as saying, “Candidly — and this is just my view — but the Board has…
