AZ to WS public sector bargaining

Will Arizona become the next public sector collective bargaining hot spot.

Rats, coffins and Grim Reapers

The Tampa Bay Times has a good overview of union "signage" used to protest employers not using union construction.

Union density static

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its 2011 union members summary which indicates 11.8% of wage and salary workers are union members. This is down slightly from 2010's 11.9% rate. Louisiana is one of 7 states with union membership under 5%. How concentrated is union membership? Note this quote

Over half of the 14.8 million union members in the U.S. lived in just seven states (California, 2.4 million; New York, 1.9 million; Illinois, 0.9 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Michigan 0.7 million; and New Jersey and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states accounted for only about one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

Changing the rules

Look for the NLRB to press forward on changes in the rules governing union organizing and elections. It will be a question of when, not of whether.

NLRB GC updates social media report

Acting NLRB General Counsel Lafe Soloman has updated his report on Social Media (January 24, 2012). The report can be accessed here. Our previous post is here.

Louisiana job growth

Good news on state and local unemployment and job creation. The Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS) reported that the state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped to 6.8% in December. Thats down from 7.7% in December 2010. The Louisiana Workforce Commission announced December marked the 15th consecutive month the state added private sector jobs. Statewide job growth in 2011 was 48,300.

Jobs and Job creators

Job creation in 2011 stacks up favorably to job creation since 2001. From ThinkProgress:

• Since the last SOTU, the economy has created 1.9 million private sector jobs. 
• Private sector job creation under Obama in 2011 was larger than seven out of the eight years Bush was president. 

When lawyers sue lawyers

Well, this one is interesting. According to the Boston Business Journal, two attorneys have sued their former employer's managing partner because he had an affair with one of the partner's wives (who is also a firm partner). The second plaintiff sued because he had to leave the firm because he lost clients that were inextricably linked to the other departing partner. The law suit claims breach of fiduciary duty.

Priapus

A woman working for a frozen snack food company was considering a sex change and wore a fake penis to work. She told her co-workers. She was fired, and now claims in a discrimination law suit it was for wearing the fake penis.

Locked Out!

The New York Times has a good article about why employers are using lockouts more aggressively. This once rare tactic is gaining favor and its not because the NFL and NBA used it.

NLRB strikes down presumption of wall to wall bargaining units

The National Labor Relations Board has extended its Specialty Healthcare (download here) bargaining unit rationale to a non-healthcare setting. In DTG Operations, Inc. (download here) the union petitioned for a unit of 31 rental service agents (RSA's) and lead agents (LRSA's) at an airport rental car facility. The Regional Director found the smallest appropriate unit was a "wall-to-wall" unit of "all 109 of employer's hourly employees." Because the union refused to go forward in the smaller unit, the RD dismissed the petition. In reversing the RD, the Board found the RSA's and the LRSA's shared a community of interests among themselves, but do not share an "overwhelming community of interests with the other hourly employees. This decision likely means the current Board will permit elections in small units which historically would not have been appropriate for collective bargaining. A labor organization can engage in piece-meal organizing, picking and choosing small groups of employees rather than undertaking an overall facility-wide effort. Advantage organized labor.

His "O-ness" sings

Is it just me, or does it seem like President Obama, after shouting out to his "great friends in organized labor," disses them  singing Aretha Franklin?

SOPA support crosses political divide

Its hard to find something the United States Chamber of Commerce and major unions both endorse. But The STOP Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is it. It still does not make the legislation a good idea.

Review your policies!

January is an excellent time for employers to review their handbooks for compliance with changes in the law, changes to employee benefits plans and workplace changes (including technology) that may require some policy tweaking. A few suggestions: social media policies, computer/smart phone use policies, brush up on no access rules under the NLRA as well as review policies to ensure  they do not constitute per se violations (Think protected concerted activity under the NLRA).

NLRB activism

Remember AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion?  Many thought the decision would lead many employers to adopt arbitration requirements that would prevent employees from pursuing class or collective employment claims. Last June we posted on the NLRB's request for briefs concerning compelled waiver of class arbitrations. The NLRB has ruled and its good news for employees. Employers who try to compel employees to waive all rights to a judicial forum for employment disputes violate the NLRA if the arbitration agreement also prohibits group, collective or class arbitrations.  The NLRB finds collective pursuit of such claims to be protected concerted activity. While employers may impose a requirement that individual claims must be arbitrated as individual claims, they may not also prevent employees from pursuing group claims in a judicial forum. The decision, D.R. Horton, Inc. may be downloaded here.

Economy gains 200,000 jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its report on December jobs creation today. The nonfarm payroll employment added a net gain of 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5% (from 8.7% in November).

Appointed

The White House has announced three recess appointments to the National Labor relations Board.

Rumor has it

President Obama will make recess appointments to the NLRB. As a preemptive comment on the political fall out of this decision, we note that the President's Republican predecessor made 7 recess appointments to the NLRB.

It can get weirder

Seems some South Carolina Boeing employees have filed a "retaliation" charge against the Machinists' union because they used the NLRB process to bully Boeing into locating the 737 Max production line in Washington State. Through collective bargaining Boeing and the union reached a 4 year agreement which included assurances that the 737 Max line would be built in Washington, and also included a resolution of the 787 Dreamliner case which ensured that contested work relocation would remain in South Carolina. The employees were assisted by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. I wouldn't bet the farm on a complaint issuing on this charge.