Two security force lieutenants at a nuclear power plant participated in presenting complaints on behalf of rank-and-file security officers. The lieutenants were fired and as a result alleged that their termination violated the National Labor Relations Act because they were terminated for engaging in protected concerted activity. The administrative law judge concluded that the two…

The United Auto Workers (UAW) first petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to represent about 3,000 graduate assistants at Columbia University in December of 2014. The Regional Director dismissed the petition based on current law that prohibits graduate students from joining unions because they are students, not employees. On appeal, the Board reinstated the petition…

Two employees hacked into their employer’s information system and gathered the contact information of other employees to use during a union organizing drive. Disgruntled employees who were contacted by the union questioned how the union received their contact information. The company terminated the two employees after concluding that they had breached the company’s confidentiality rule…

Workers walked off their jobs at a bottling plant in Puerto Rico to protest the company’s change in its access policy for off-duty employees. The company responded by suspending all five of the union shop stewards. The union grieved the suspensions, but never took any action to process the grievance. Instead, the membership unanimously approved…

A drama teacher became upset when the school instructed him to rewrite some passages of a student play. The teacher emailed coworkers complaining and requested that they seek an apology from the school administration for conduct that the teacher described as dishonest, immoral, and unintelligent. When confronted by the school, he initially denied its existence…

A decertification vote for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 445 was on the horizon when three union newsletters appeared in the employee break room. All of the letters included anonymous handwritten comments such as “Dear P—ies, Please Read,” “Hey cat food lovers, how is your income doing?,” and “Warehouse workers, RIP.” Several female employees…