In 2016, 40,000 Verizon workers walked off the job and went on strike during contract negotiations. The Communications Workers of America union spent 6 weeks on strike. After the strike ended, the CWA sued one worker who, kept working during the strike. According to the lawsuit, that employee “continued to work throughout the strike and…

Car Wash Licenses Cost Ten Times as Much for Non-Union Companies Local Law 62 was passed by the City Council and signed by Mayor de Blasio in 2015 during a period of intense labor organizing among the city’s roughly 150 car wash companies, many of which are staffed by immigrant, non-union workers. The law made…

The NLRB and courts recognize that off-duty employees have greater rights than non-employees when it comes to accessing the employer’s property to engage in protected activity. The NLRB applies a three-part test to determine if an employer’s off-duty access policy is valid under the National Labor Relations Act. An off-duty access policy is valid only…

When President Trump released his 2018 budget, he slashed the NLRB’s apportioned amount by 6% and called for a staff reduction despite a projected increase to the Board’s caseload. The 6% reduction would result in the lowest total operating budget for the Board since 2009 (President Obama’s first year). Likewise, staff reductions would place the…

A company was growing and wanted to hire someone who could ensure that it remained compliant with workplace laws, so it hired an HR Generalist. After auditing personnel files and payroll, the HR Generalist drafted a letter that said, among other things: He had major concerns about the workplace; One employee was racist; One employee…

Unions remain baffled in how to organize workers in the gig economy. The gig economy is a term use for companies, like Uber, whose business model is built on the use of independent contractors. Independent contractors are, by law, not allowed to join unions. But that is not stopping unions from creatively trying to represent…