Revitalizing unions

In These Times has an interesting post on revitalizing the labor movement. It focuses on University of Texas law professor Julius G. Getman's new book, Restoring the Power of Unions: It Takes a Movement. Getman portray's the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) as a model of a member centered labor organization which has created its own mobilized rank and file, a rejuvenation of a movement, solidarity - core values gone missing from other labor organizations. Getman also rejects card check recognition as labor's salvation. He's not against it, he just does not believe it will effectuate needed change. Getman correctly notes two restrictions on labor's economic power have crippled the labor movement over time. The first is Mackay Radio, which held economic strikers can be permanently replaced. The second is Taft-Hartley's ban on secondary economic pressure.

Survey Says: hookey

A Careerbuilder survey suggests 29% of employees have missed work at least once in the last year for unapproved reasons. Survey also shows 16% of employers have terminated a worker for missing work without a proper excuse.

Senate candidates think minimum wage laws unconstitutional

Two Senate candidates have claimed regulation of the workplace by Congress is unconstitutional. This despite a unanimous Supreme Court upholding the validity of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1941.

Electronic notices required

In a divided decision (Hayes dissenting) the NLRB has adopted electronic notice requirements when that is a "customary means of communicating with employees."

Compound interest daily

The NLRB, in a 4-0 decision, underscores unanimity on providing remedial relief by adopting a new rule that interest on back pay awards will be compounded daily.

Why was it even close?

The Wobblies (International Workers of the World) lost a representation election in Minneapolis at fast food chain Jimmy John's. The employer vigorously contested the election even hiring a well-known union avoidance consultant. The newsworthy question is why was this one close? The Wobblies have a history as a far left union, and recently have focused on organizing workers other unions have not targeted. The labor organization lost 87-85 with 2 challenged ballots. Even if the 2 challenged votes went its way, the union lost the election, because it could not establish its majority status. Nevertheless, it plans to object to the results claiming the employer engaged in unfair labor practices.

NFL says no health insurance during lockout

The NFL signaled, again, its intention to play hardball. NFL Commissioner Goodell says the NFL's decision is a good reason for the NFLPA to come to the bargaining table and reach a new deal with the league.

The Devil is in the Math

Pro-labor site In These Times has posted a piece claiming an employer's lockout is costing the company more than giving into the union's contract demands. The first question is "why is that news?" One would assume the disrupted continuation of work would be more expensive. Upon closer analysis, however, the math is skewed. The poster includes the total cost of replacement labor in the computation. Since the locked out employees are not paid for being locked out, the labor cost figure does not belong in the calculation. The proper analysis would subtract the normal labor costs from the actual labor costs to ascertain the increase caused by the lockout.

Effect of Great Recession on employee attitudes

Well, its inevitable this study would be done. And equally inevitable its probably been done several times with varying questions. Quick take: Employees are waking up to life outside of work, and the importance of family as a direct effect of the Great Recession. For some of us, we were rescued earlier. My liberation occurred when a longtime local client was acquired by a multi-national firm, after which they never called again. This occurrence is of course, by no means unique to me, but it made this professional pause and rethink the boundaries of commitment to serving clients before family. The oldest of my 4 children was 12 at the time. After that point, I never missed a school event or an athletic event because of work conflicts. The best part was most client representatives (and even judges) completely understood the point.

NFL lockout and collateral damage

The NFL is big business and the collateral damage from a lockout would hurt more than just the players and the owners.

NFL lockout and collateral damage

The NFL is big business and the collateral damage from a lockout would hurt more than just the players and the owners.

Spying costs

Remember the school district that engaged in surveillance using the district laptops to spy on students at home, previously posted here and here? The school board just approved a $610,000 settlement.

The Multi-Employer pension plan disaster

There are many good reasons to advise a client to beware participation in union sponsored multi-employer pension plans. None the least of which is the crushing withdrawal liability imposed upon small employers who who are vulnerable to the extraordinary and excessive underfunding issues exacerbated by the great recession and investment value declines. While there has been some improvement, the issue still confronts many employers. Thats whats particularly wrong when commentators characterize any government action to address the problem as a bailout for unions.  Its not. Its a bailout for employers saddled with underfunding liability as well as a bailout for participants, many who have worked years for promised pension benefits now in jeopardy.

Punishment by litigation

Sometimes doubling down on a doomsday strategy can work, but more often than not, it does not, is expensive, and has dire ultimate consequences. The issue of retaliatory litigation and whether a labor organization can prevail against an employer is a significant one. The Supreme Court addressed the issue in BE and K Construction. More after the jump.

Social Media Discovery ordered

A New York trial court has ruled that a personal injury plaintiff has no reasonable expectation of privacy on her Myspace and Facebook pages even those protected by privacy settings. Romano v. Steelcase, Inc. throws around legal concepts and seems to take a more difficult path to reach its result than necessary, but it provides a good source of citation to cases from several jurisdictions.

Social Media as litigation tool

The New York State Bar has issued an ethics opinion that accessing the public pages of a social network site to gather information on a litigation opponent is ethical. HAt Tip to the always interesting Adjunct Law Prof Blog.

Dead EFCA beaten again

Dead horse beaten for lively political purposes.

Sanity flu out the window

Do three in ten healthcare workers really intend NOT to get a flu shot? Do almost 50% of an "at risk" group (those over 65) really intend NOT to get a flu shot. And does over thirty percent of the public believe flu shots don't work? Is this a non-political example of the ever increasing gulf between fact and opinion that seems to afflict the public?

Woman to challenge Hoffa

Longtime Teamster and President of New York Teamster Local 805, Sandy Pope, says she intends to challenge James P. Hoffa for the presidency of the International union next year. Pope, active in Teamsters for a Democratic Union, has been a Teamster for 30 years. About 30% of the 1.3 million member union is female.

Foul!

The National Basketball Association (NBA) wants to cut down on complaints and gestures which show insufficient respect for the referees or the game. Arguing a call or other offensive conduct, even if not directed at the game official may result in a technical foul. Technical fouls can also lead to player fines. The players association file unfair labor practices in the 2006-07 season, and again threatens legal action. Griping at work about work rules certainly is protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Can the league establish a business justification for the muzzling of the complaints? Would a technical foul remedy do as much injury to the game as complaining?

Whose happy at work?

Ever wonder whose got job satisfaction? Here is an analysis of the top 50 happiest occupations.

Dead horse again

EFCA is a dead horse that keeps getting beaten. If anymore proof is necessary look at what these candidates in close senate races are saying. Truly labor has itself to blame here for insisting on card check as the cornerstone of labor law reform. All that insistence did is create a sound bite for the opposition. "We oppose getting rid of secret ballot elections." By its own insistence labor allowed itself to be portrayed as undemocratic and even unAmerican. There is zero chance EFCA will get passed in a lame duck session.

Why the lack of jobs creation

Paul Krugman says its because there was inadequate government spending on things that create jobs.

18,290-11,364

As always Randy Shaw has an informative piece on the NUHW loss to SEIU in the Kaiser election.

Net job loss caused by public sector decline

Government sector employment declined by 159,000 last month while private sector jobs increased by 64,000 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained at 9.6%.

Trumka: Unions will be outspent

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says for the 2010 midterms, he expects unions to be out spent 20-1 by "corporate groups aligned with Republicans."

Local Sodexho employees picket

Employees of Sodexho serving the Recovery School District and Loyola and Tulane Universities have been picketing to publicize complaints about low wages and other grievances.

Job losses and economic disaster

AFL-CIO blog correctly characterizes the Avondale layoffs, which are underway, as a huge economic disaster for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. As our marshes erode so do manufacturing jobs. While it may be hyperbole to compare the effects of the Avondale closure to the BP oil spill, long term it may not be.

10(j) injunctions

The NLRB's Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has announced his intention to consider seeking 10(j) injunctions when employees are fired during organizing campaigns. Section 10(j), authorizes the NLRB to seek preliminary injunctions from federal courts to protect victims of unfair labor practices pending litigation.

Symphony strike

Detroit Symphony contemplates its 5th strike since 1969. The big issue is paycuts affecting the average base salary of $104,650.

Rat redux

More on the rat from WaPo.

Rats! again

Bloomberg has an article about the inflatable rat. Former New Orleans labor attorney Bill Lurye is quoted. Bill is now Associate General Counsel with the AFL-CIO.

Public employee speech - Protected?

Public employees free speech rights are limited. Those unaware of that concept need to read up on Garcetti v. Ceballos, and review subsequent developments, particularly case law in the Fifth Circuit. But what happens when an employee is not disciplined for provocative if not outrageous speech, as in this case where an assistant attorney general takes out after a gay college student in a blog. Good synopsis of the purported events from Workplace Prof Blog is here. Isn't the nexus between the AAG's job and allegations of what may be criminal misconduct by the college student sufficient to make discipline for the remarks appropriate under Garcetti? Probably, but there has been no discipline so far. So what happens if another AAG (or some other public sector employee)speaks out in support of the college student, or in opposition to the issues raised by the first AAG, and is disciplined? Does Garcetti prevent that public employee from even getting to the Pickering test requiring a justification for content based distinctions?

Labor engages for 2010 mid-terms

Big labor is "all in" to elect candidates (Democrats) favorable to it.