Tag: Union organizing

Big Labor Got Bigger in 2023

While union numbers on the whole generally declined in 2023, some of the biggest American unions were able to augment their numbers in spite of the downward trend.

According to a recent report from Bloomberg, “Many of the nation’s largest unions including the Teamsters and West Coast dock workers saw membership gains last year, signaling potential for new organizing even as the labor movement struggles to tighten its grip on the workforce, according to new federal data.

“The numbers paint a more optimistic portrait of unions’ ability to recruit new members, particularly in the service and manufacturing sectors, even in the face of declining density nationwide. Two dozen groups added members in 2023, a year marked by high-profile strikes and labor stoppage threats across industries. The additions overcome losses from seven other peer unions, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of disclosures filed with the US Department of Labor last week.”

For context, union membership rates across private and public sector workers overall dropped to 10 percent in 2023, down from 10.1 percent in 2022. For comparison, when this data first became available in 1983, that number was at 20.1 percent – or double where unions are now. In the private sector, only 6 percent of those workers now belong to unions as of 2023.

Nevertheless, this report showing gains by some of the nation’s largest labor organizations, combined with historic union organizing numbers and the seemingly growing number of union election successes, may move those union membership percentages upward by the close of 2024. In addition, recent changes by the National Labor Relations Board to the union election process may further help unions bolster their ranks. We’ll see how this all shakes out by year’s end. Stay tuned.

© 2024 BARNES & THORNBURG LLP
For more on Unions, visit the NLR Labor & Employment section.

What Are the Top 3 Labor Law Developments of 2023 (So Far)?

It’s hard to believe the end of 2023 is upon us. This year is one for the history books on the labor law and labor relations fronts. In a year packed with significant legal landscape changes and high-profile labor disputes, it’s worth a quick recap of what are – in my view – the top 3 developments.

1. NLRB Revamps the Union Organizing Process

At the top of my list are changes the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made to the union organizing process. The board did several things in this regard. First, the NLRB reinstated the Obama-era “ambush” election rules that accelerate the union election timetable. Specifically, these rules truncate the amount of time between an election petition being filed and a vote being held (i.e., shorten the amount of time a company has to campaign).

Second, the agency issued arguably one of its most groundbreaking decisions in decades in Cemex. In that case, the NLRB altered the framework for how unions can and will be recognized and significantly loosened the standard for Draconian bargaining orders in some cases. Bottom line: The legal landscape, relatively speaking, makes it exponentially easier for workers to vote in unions now.

2. UAW Strikes at the Big 3

Labor relations issues haven’t been top headlines in recent decades. That changed this year. The ongoing nationwide union push at Starbucks over the last two years has garnered much attention, along with some other high-profile union pushes and disputes. But the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) coordinated strike efforts at Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers truly was remarkable in terms of the national attention it garnered. For the first time, the UAW struck General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis (aka Chrysler) at once.

The UAW took a creative approach: it targeted specific plants for work stoppages while leaving others operational. This approach had two primary benefits to the union: 1) it allowed it to slow the cash burn on their strike pay bank (estimated to be north of $800 million at one point) and 2) it allowed the union to keep the companies guessing as to which plants the UAW may bring offline next – creating operational inefficiencies and uncertainty. Ultimately, this strategy resulted in deals with each of the Big 3, and most view the UAW as having come out on top in these negotiations.

3. NLRB Starts to Scrutinize Non-competes

On May 30, the NLRB’s top lawyer, Jennifer Abruzzo, turned heads when she issued a memo signaling that her office was taking the view that non-compete agreements, in some circumstances, violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This development was somewhat surprising to some given that the NLRA was passed nearly 100 years ago and was not cited previously as a basis to invalidate standard restrictive covenants found in countless employment agreements around the country.

Abruzzo further announced the NLRB will be coordinating enforcement and a potential crackdown on non-competes with the other agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission – which this year also signaled an emphasis on these agreements – and the Department of Justice.

Given there’s a month left to go before the end of 2023, there may be other significant developments to come, but, for now, these are my top three. Happy Holidays!

© 2023 BARNES & THORNBURG LLP
For more news on 2023 Labor Law Updates, visit the NLR Labor & Employment section.

You’ve Got Mail: NLRB Requests Briefing on Standard for Employee Use of Employer Owned Electronic Communication Systems

In what could signify the beginning of the end for Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050 (2014) and guaranteed employee access to Employer computer systems for union organizing purposes, the NLRB issued a notice on August 1 inviting the filing of briefs on whether the Board should uphold, modify or overrule the decision.  Under Purple Communications (which we previously covered here), employees have a presumptive right to use their employer’s e-mail system to engage in protected activity under Section 7 of the NLRA on nonworking time, unless the employer can demonstrate circumstances allowing it to restrict such use.  Overturning Purple Communications could return the Board to the standard under Register Guard, 351 NLRB 1110 (2007), which permitted employers to impose Section 7-neutral restrictions on an employee’s non-work use of their e-mail systems, even if those restrictions ultimately limited the employee’s use of the employer’s e-mail for communications involving protected activity.

The NLRB issued the notice in response to a 2016 ALJ decision finding that an employer’s computer usage policy did not comply with Purple Communications standard, because it prohibited employees from using their work e-mail for any nonbusiness purpose.  Board Members Pearce (who was in the Purple Communicationsmajority) and McFerran dissented from the decision to solicit briefs.  Both dissenting Members contended that issuing the notice was inappropriate in light of the pending appeal of Purple Communications before the Ninth Circuit and their view that there has been no change in workplace trends or evidence showing that Purple Communications has created significant challenges for employers, employees, unions or the Board.

Perhaps in recognition that workplace communication technology has clearly expanded beyond e-mail, the notice welcomes briefing on what standard the Board should apply to other methods of employee communication on employer-owned equipment (e.g., instant messages, text messages, and social media postings). While the Board has limited its holdings in the area of computer usage to employer e-mail systems, this notice may indicate a move by the Board to apply a consistent standard to all forms of workplace communication platforms.

 

© 2018 Proskauer Rose LLP.
This post was written by Michael J Lebowich and Jordan Simon of Proskauer Rose LLP.
For more labor and employment news, check out the National Law Review’s Labor and Employment Page.