The Railway Labor Act (RLA) governs labor disputes at airlines, railroads, and some contractors. The contractors covered by the RLA must be under the control of, and performing the same functions as, an airline or railroad. The National Labor Relations Act governs disputes in other industries, including airline and railroad contracts that are not subject…

Do you remember when Boeing moved a production line from union-heavy Washington State to virtually union-free South Carolina a few years ago? Remember how unions were publically outraged? Me too. That’s why I was surprised to see that the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union tried to organize the Boeing South Carolina employees – the…

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has spent tens of millions of dollars on a three-year campaign to increase the wages paid to retail and fast-food workers. Was it money well spent? In recent months, cities have passed or introduced laws requiring higher wages within city limits – oftentimes exempting union companies, thus making unionization…

Leaving the union? Not so fast. On October 1, 2014, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) issued a policy that all employees who want to leave the union must appear in person at the IBEW office with a photo ID. This is a particularly interesting development given that in April 2012, the IBEW opposed…

When employers voluntarily recognize a union, a “recognition bar” prohibits employees from challenging the union’s status as their representative for a “reasonable period” of time. This “reasonable period” begins on the date of the first bargaining meeting between the union and the employer and lasts for six to twelve months. Americold Logistics LLC agreed to…

The United States Postal Service suffered a data security breach at the end of 2014. Electronic files including information such as employee names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, beginning and end dates of employment, and emergency contact information was compromised in the breach. The Postal Service offered affected employees a free year of…