Companies are often eager to withdraw recognition of a union without realizing that severing a union relationship is easier said than done. One company recently learned this lesson the hard way when it obtained signed statements from 8 of the 15 bargaining unit members purportedly showing that the employees wanted to end union representation. The…

A hospital system had one unionized hospital with about 215 employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) while there were over 5,000 unrepresented employees throughout the system. The hospital and the SEIU had a collective bargaining agreement that gave union employees a preference over non-union employees in hiring and transferring to open bargaining…

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a National Labor Relations Board decision that an Illinois auto dealership illegally discouraged workers from supporting a union. The dealership’s management met with employees to discuss a union organizing effort. The managers (truthfully) stated that bargaining with the union would “start from scratch” and pointed out that…

We previously reported on a National Labor Relations Board decision where Intertape Polymer Corporation won a union election 142-97, but the Board ordered a new election based on unfair labor practices. [See, “Minor Employer Misconduct During Organizing Campaign Nullifies Company’s Victory”] The Board, as expected, found that the company engaged in unlawful surveillance when its…

One limit of the National Labor Relations Act is that it applies only to employees. Independent contractors are not covered by the Act. A Seattle city council member recently introduced legislation that would bring collective bargaining to cab drivers that work as independent contractors who are not covered by the Act. This is another creative…

Over the past few years, we have seen how the pro-union, Democrat-controlled National Labor Relations Board has given new meaning to many terms of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Democrat lawmakers now seek to pile onto the drastic changes to the Act. The recently proposed bill, titled the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy…