Acting just days before the term of Chairman Phillip Miscimarra ended on December 16, the National Labor Relations Board issued four decisions overturning landmark cases that expanded employee and labor union protections. In a single week, the NLRB returns to pre-Obama-Board standards and upends the apple cart. Each case was decided on a strict, party-line
Manufacturing Law Predictions for 2017: Labor and Employment
As has been our tradition, January is the time to predict the big developments in the coming year which will impact on manufacturers. Notwithstanding my “Lawyer’s Shrug,” here is my take on 2017.
Minimum Wages. Even though President Trump ran on a populist platform to raise wages for American Workers, I believe it unlikely…
The 2017 “Manufacturers’ Lawyer’s Shrug”
I am a really big fan of the NPR radio show, “Car Talk,” where two Boston auto mechanics took callers’ questions and tried to answer them. Since the November 8 election, I have freely adapted one of their signature phrases – I call it the “Manufacturers’ Lawyers’ Shrug.” Basically, when I attend any event and…
Election 2016: WOW, Just WOW
I had a blog piece almost done. It was going to give an overview of another NLRB case which threatened to overturn settled law and expand the rights of unions to organize. I was going to use it as another “Year of Change” post.
Then the votes got counted.
Wow.
After eight years of ever…
General Counsel’s New Standard on Intermittent Strikes, Another Untenable Position for Manufacturers
On October 3, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board’s (Board) Office of the General Counsel (General Counsel) issued a memorandum seeking to broaden a union’s right to engage in intermittent strikes, which it defines as multiple short-term strikes—“a plan to strike, return to work and strike again.” The memorandum addresses the issue because unions have…
Teamsters’ Central States Pension Plan: A Saga Becomes a Nightmare?
We have been watching, warning and posting about the saga of the troubled Central States Pension Plan (“CSPP”). See The Gift-Giving Season? Three “Game-Changing” Employment Developments Impacting Manufacturers, Teamster Plan to Cut Pensions Presents Significant Issues for Manufacturers, and A Troubling Future Part One: Teamsters’ Pension Rescue Plan. Things were bad. They…
Employment Law Developments for Manufacturers: Predictably Unpredictable!
Manufacturers should take note of two recent developments in the human resources world. One expected. The other not.
Frequent readers of this blog may recall that in January I predicted the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) would make good on its goal of updating the “Persuader Rule.”
By way of background, the Persuader Rule…
Recent NLRB Decision Gives Manufacturers Another Reason to Update Policies
As I have commented in this space multiple times, under the Obama Administration, government agencies (particularly the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board) have given manufacturers great incentives to review and update employment policies in light of an aggressive enforcement environment. The National Labor Relations Board…
Never too Late for Some 2016 Employment Predictions!
While we are still saying “Happy New Year” (I checked and was told that January 21 was still “not too late” to wish good tidings for 2016), and as we get ready for the Great East Coast Blizzard of 2016, I thought it would be a good time to add my own predictions for…
Breaking News: UAW Wins VW Manufacturing Plant Vote in Tennessee
On Friday, the United Auto Workers claimed victory in its long-running efforts to organize the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Reportedly capturing 71 percent of the vote (108 in favor to 44 against), the election victory represents the first successful organizing campaign of this troubled German car manufacturer in the United States. The victory comes…