Economy grows

The nations GDP grew at a slower than forecast 3.2% in the first quarter. Its the third straight quarter of growth.

EFCA banner removed

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports the AFL-CIO has removed the giant EFCA banner which has hung for a year on the outside of the labor federations Washington headquarters. While this symbolic gesture is greeted with pleasure in Chamberland, it likely means that labor is shifting away from its public campaign to amend the National Labor Relations Act only to focus on less visible change through rule-making and other actions by the NLRB.

The money barometer

Here is an interesting post by a conservative Mississippi blogger about labor's funding the state's two democratic congressmen. The blogger suggests the small contributions this election cycle relates to the congressmen's opposition to EFCA.

Not so affirmative defense

A federal district court in Tennessee has denied an employer's motion for summary judgment in a sexual harassment case because there was insufficient evidence that the employer had an effective policy to prevent or correct any harassing behavior. The employer's attempt to invoke the Faragher/Ellerth defense failed because there was "no evidence in this record that plaintiff Bishop, defendant Butler, or any other Woodbury employee received any training regarding the company's anti-harassment policy." There was a policy in place, but the lack of training made it insufficient for purposes of summary judgement. Employers must establish the effectiveness of the policy because that is an element of the affirmative defense. This case sends a clear signal that employee and supervisory training may well be essential to the defense.

Big class

In an en banc decision, a sharply divided (6-5) federal appeals court (9th Cir.) has determined that Wal-Mart, the world's largest private employer, must defend a class action gender discrimination suit filed by six women. The class action involves as many as 1.5 million current and former employees. The allegations include claims that women are paid less than men working the same jobs and that women are not promoted as often as or as soon as males.

EFCA as Job destroyer

The American Enterprise Institute has released a study which predicts EFCA, and its resulting increased union density, could cost 4.5 million jobs and reduce the gross domestic product by as much as 4%. The study notes a disproportionate effect upon small businesses and start ups. From 2003-2006  8,802 certification elections were conducted. Twenty-one percent were conducted at firms with less than ten employees, fifty-five percent at businesses with less than 30 employees, and 84 percent were at businesses with less than 100 employees.

Holy discrimination bat men

The Economist has a straight-forward piece explaining the issues in the public university case before SCOTUS where a Christian Group is challenging university policy which forces the group to accept unrepentant gays into membership. And then there is the suit by the three bisexual baseball players who claim the Gay World Series discriminated against them.

Play ball!

As the high school baseball season winds down and the major league season ramps up, I spend a considerable amount of time organizing a youth baseball program. I love baseball and am fortunate to be able to watch my son play his senior year in high school, and also, I can walk around the corner and watch one of the finest college programs. Michael Weiner is the Executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. He recently spoke at Penn State about collective bargaining and what is on the horizon in the major leagues. Interesting read.

Facts matter 3

I recently was discussing the use of abject fabrication in political arguments, and its potential for long term skewing of political thought. Its damn near everywhere on the political front. Objective fact does matter. And conclusions premised on false predicates are very likely flawed. This poster takes a talk radio star to task for his misrepresentation of the Massey mining tragedy.

New Process Steel

SCOTUSBLOG reports on Friday the Supreme Court directed the parties to file simultaneous letter briefs in response to Solicitor General Elena Kagan's informing the Court that President Obama had made two recess appointments to the NLRB. Its unclear what this is about. Is the Court inviting the NLRB to cure any problem with 2 member decisions? This invitation would be expected if there was a perceived reason that the Court should not hear the case on the merits. Maybe its just a formal invitation to respond as to the possible effects, without signaling a perception of anything. Approximately 600 Board decisions have been rendered when the NLRB had only 2 members. The case is New Process Steel v. NLRB (docket 08-1457).

Walkin' in New Orleans

Yesterday was another gorgeous spring day, and late in the afternoon my daughter and I walked through the Tulane campus, and as the glory of spring was overcoming me, I heard in the distance a speaker demanding economic justice and the right to organize. Seems Sodexo workers at Tulane and Loyola need street demonstrations to pump support for their agenda. While I could only hear bits of the appeal as I walked, CLEAN UP SODEXO has a post about it. The part where the guy making $8.12 an hour says he's had only a 24¢ and 12¢ raise in five years seems a little odd. In 2005, the minimum wage was $5.15/hr. I guess the real dollars received as a result of the minimum wage rising to its current level ($7.25) are not real raises. Thats not to say that $8.12 an hour is a living wage, but my bet is that the complaining worker has seen a lot more than 36¢ in raises in the last five years.

Sodexo engages City Council

Tulane, Loyola and Recovery School District Sodexo workers took their complaints about their employer to City Hall, and afterwards to a public rally with other politicians. The SEIU is attempting to organize these workers.

Dead EFCA

Jane Hampsher at Firedoglake has a good post on the politics of EFCA, starring Harry, Arlen and Rahm.

NLRB on the web

The NLRB's web site is one of the best for practitioners and law students alike. We've been able to download Board decisions, ALJ decisions and track NLRB press releases and news for several years. The new 75th anniversary section is full of photos and historical information and even a few games to play.

Suits, the wearing kind

I'm not ready to change my ways, but John Phillips just posted about this New York Times article about the return of the (inexpensive) suit. John's absolutely correct about the number of buttons and that cuffs are required, otherwise why bother.

Sodexo in NOLA

Sodexo workers at Tulane and Loyola universities are targeted by the SEIU according to Tulane's Hullabaloo online.

4-10-10

Updated: Today belongs to Julia Mitchell Mott and Mr. And Mrs. Bradley Glen Glaser.

SEIU v. NUHW

A federal court jury has ruled in favor of the SEIU and against 16 former officials who bolted from the SEIU and formed the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The verdict awards a money judgment totaling almost $1.6 million dollars. Randy Shaw has a good analysis at BeyondChron.

Right to Work at 34

Louisiana was the last southern state to pass a Right to Work law. It happened in 1976, shortly before I came to New Orleans for my first job as an attorney. Those were very different and very trying times as noted by Jim Beam, a reporter in Lake Charles who recounts the violence that led to its passage.

Justice Stevens retiring

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens ended speculation about his continuing on the Court today by formally announcing his retirement at the end of the Court's term this summer.

Whodathought

New Orleans has the lowest jobless rate (6.5%) of any major metropolitan area in the country, according to an otherwise bleak Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released yesterday. The unemployment rate was higher than it was in February 2009 in 347
of the 372 metropolitan areas, and lower in only 21 areas.

Technology abuse

I teach Labor Law as an adjunct, and have done so for a number of years. Each year I debate the value of allowing students to use a laptop in class. I am reasonably certain it adds nothing to the learning experience, but I have felt that adult students can chose not to listen to me, and am reasonably sure that doing so affects their grade adversely, because I provide a pretty good roadmap to success on a very difficult exam. Maybe I should revisit the issue as this article suggests. 

Pray for labor peace

The Episcopal Church seems to have angered labor by switching from a unionized housekeeping service to a non-union one for its New York headquarters.

Unpaid internships unlawful?

The New York Times reports the DoL intends stepped up investigation of unpaid internships. Nancy Leppink, Deputy Administrator of the Wage Hour Division of the federal Department of Labor issued a guidance letter concerning workplace training. At page 8 she underscores the criteria for excluding interns from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act. More after the jump.

Contesting unemployment

The New York Times has an interesting article on Talx ("talks") a new giant that handles an estimated 30% of unemployment claims contested by employers. Its not pretty.

Jobs and more jobs

Although the unemployment rate remained at 9.7%, the economy gained 162,000 jobs.

Outsourcing onions

Employees have discovered they too can outsource their jobs. Our special link this first day of April in the year of our Lord 2010.

Canada loves it some EFCA?

We have previously posted, here, here, here, here and here about Canadian data usefulness as a predictor of what EFCA might produce in the United States. The Economic Policy Institute has released data on first contract arbitration in Manitoba, the Province with the most EFCA-like FCA provisions. The small sample study notes that 87.5% (14 of 16) businesses who engaged in FCA between 2001 and 2007, remain in business. The AFL-CIO blog touts this as "evidence" EFCA is not a jobs killer. That a business remains in business is of course a positive fact, but really provides little proof that the business is no worse off than if it had not been required to submit to an imposed collective bargaining agreement. How successful could the 16 have been without this burden, would the two failed enterprises survived? The news in this piece is not that FCA is good, but rather that it was used only 14 times in 7 years.