Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) is concerned that the U.S. Department of Labor is targeting Southern vehicle and auto-parts manufacturers because of their failure to unionize. Southern automotive manufacturers are now subject to in-depth inspections as part of an OSHA regional emphasis program. This increased scrutiny comes a year after the agency announced union representatives may…

When an employer held a pre-disciplinary investigative interview of an employee for possible fraudulent Medicaid billing and timekeeping practices, a coworker who served as the union steward attended the interview as the employee’s Weingarten representative. During the interview, the union steward repeatedly asked the employer to explain the purpose of the questioning, and the union steward…

Region 7 of the NLRB in Detroit, Michigan issued a complaint, alleging that the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) violated Section the NLRA by restraining and coercing Walmart employees during a 2012 Black Friday protest at a store in Dearborn, Michigan. According to the complaint, an organizing director for UFCW Local 876 and…

Richard Griffin, the new general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, wants to give unions veto power over a company’s decision to relocate. Griffin recently ordered NLRB Regional Directors to seek guidance from his office before acting on relocation cases. Currently, unionized employers may relocate some or all of their facilities and eliminate bargaining…

New York City has proposed to arm their investigators with Google Glass type eyewear for use when investigating workplaces. According to the City, having accurate video of the inspection is in everyone’s best interest. Will OSHA follow suit and provide Google Glasses to their inspectors? This is not a far leap of logic, since OSHA…

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a “poll” by Hart Research purporting to show widespread labor law violations in the restaurant industry – an industry currently under intense unionization efforts from many major labor unions. The “poll” was commissioned by SEIU worker center “Low Pay is Not OK” – the group orchestrating strikes at…