A past practice is a pattern of prior conduct consistently undertaken in recurring situations to the point that it evolves into an understanding between the company and the union that the practice is the appropriate course of action. A past practice can be used to clarify ambiguous language in a contract and can be used…

Supervisors are excluded from coverage of the National Labor Relations Act under the Section 2 definition of “employee.” Section 14(a) also exempts employers from the duty to consider supervisors as employees under any law relating to collective bargaining. Notably, the Board has overruled a rigid rule that once excluded professionals from supervisory status if they…

The National Labor Relations Board has continually held that surveillance of employees engaged in union organizing activity is generally unlawful. An employer that photographs or videotapes employees engaged in concerted activities may be engaging in prohibited surveillance, unlawfully creating the impression of surveillance, or both. The classic example of when this happens is after an…

A union’s level of access to remain on-site of a shopping center depends on weighing the employer’s private property rights against employees’ Section 7 rights. Unfortunately, private property interests may be required to yield to the trespassory activity of non-employee union organizers when the union lacks a reasonable alternative for communicating with employees or when…

Hot-cargo agreements are agreements between an employer and a union where the employer agrees to not handle or work on any freight or product coming from another person with whom the union has a dispute. Section 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act prohibits unions and employers from entering into any agreement where the employer…

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percent of American workers belonging to labor unions in 2013 was the same as in 2012 – 11.3%. Pretty amazing that the number remained steady considering all the people in the workforce. By peeling back the numbers, we get a better look at what is…