Unions must provide evidence that at least 30% of the proposed bargaining unit supports its petition before the Board will schedule an election. Unions may either submit signed and dated authorization cards or a signature list. Until recently, employees needed to physically sign their name in ink on a piece of paper. Now, though, the…

A manager noticed that a delivery driver “reeked of the smell of marijuana.” The manager informed the employee that he would assign him a route for that day only if he agreed to take a drug test. The employee called the union shop steward, but it was the steward’s day off, so he could not…

California recently passed legislation establishing a 90-day transition period for workers in grocery stores of at least 15,000 square feet. The law requires new owners to retain employees during the transition period, give the workers a written performance evaluation, and consider offering them continued employment based on their evaluations. This new law takes effect January…

We previously discussed how unions are developing technology to assist in organizing. [See, “Secret Union Organizing via Handheld Social App”]. Verizon has turned the table and decided to harness technology to help prepare for a possible union strike. Verizon’s contract with the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) expired, and…

A real estate operator acquired seven buildings from a property owner. The owner had used a services provider whose employees were represented by the Machinists’ Union. The real estate operator agreed to hire seven of the service provider’s eight bargaining unit employees pursuant to New York City’s Displaced Building Service Workers Protection Act. This local…

While unions are typically the party alleging an employer acted unlawfully, occasionally they find themselves having to respond to similar allegations. The United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 7 (UFCW), Colorado’s largest labor union, is in the hot seat over allegations that they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Colorado Wage Act…