09/01/2010
Until recently, Jim Callaghan was a writer for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents New York City teachers and that has made its name by actively opposing city officials’ power to fire teachers without due process. Now Callaghan is claiming UFT employees have no such protection themselves. He says he was fired after he began looking into unionizing UFT editorial employees.
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08/27/2010
In North Carolina, union employees have to use their contracts to pursue claims they were unfairly fired. They can’t do what at-will employees can do—sue for wrongful termination.
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08/27/2010
Final rules are now in place for enforcing Executive Order 13496, the White House decree requiring all federal contractors and subcontractors to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act—the primary federal law governing the relationship between private-sector employers and unions.
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08/23/2010
As we approach the Nov. 2 midterm congressional elections, chances for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) grow dimmer and dimmer. But that hasn’t diminished unions’ push for EFCA-like reforms through the National Labor Relations Board—especially now that a solid three-vote majority of former union lawyers is serving on the board. The battleground clearly has shifted to the NLRB.
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08/23/2010
California-based members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) have ratified a two-year labor agreement with the California Department of Personnel Administration (DPA).
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08/23/2010
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in August approved plans for a mail ballot election to begin Sept. 13 for tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees throughout California. The election will determine if the workers at the health care giant will be represented by one of three unions. Kaiser employees also have the option of voting for no union representation.
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08/23/2010
On Aug. 1, a union representing postdoctoral researchers at the University of California reached a tentative collective-bargaining agreement. The five-year pact between the university system and Postdoctoral Researchers Organize/UAW (PRO/UAW), which represents 6,500 postdoctoral researchers in the UC system, calls for pay increases of at least 3% per year from 2010 to 2015 for researchers earning less than $47,000.
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08/23/2010
In a recent article, we explain how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is struggling to clear a backlog of cases after a huge Supreme Court decision invalidating many prior decisions. Now the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has added to the NLRB’s burden by kicking a case back to the board rather than deciding it in court.
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08/23/2010
These days, unions are using tough tactics, including targeting nonunion employers with postcard campaigns that urge the public to boycott nonunion products and services. Some of those mailings may be misleading—or flat-out lies. You could sue for defamation, but that’s an uphill battle ...
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08/12/2010
The Minnesota Nurses Association signed a three-year collective bargaining agreement with 14 Twin Cities hospitals on July 6, just days before a strike deadline set by the union. The hospitals had sought the right to “float” registered nurses to any hospital at any time, but eventually backed off that demand and a proposal to modify nurse pensions.
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08/09/2010
“The big bang theory of labor law reform is behind us,” said Michael Lotito, an employment law attorney at Jackson Lewis. Meaning: In its current form, the controversial Employee Free Choice Act won’t pass. But it’s not all good news. The five-member NLRB “has changed dramatically” with the addition of three new members named by President Obama.
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08/02/2010
Two former employees of the Texas Dental Association are $900,000 richer after receiving back pay in a settlement agreement brokered by the National Labor Relations Board.
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07/20/2010
The Department of Labor has launched a new web-based employment law guide on how to conduct union elections. The purpose: walking union members and officials through the steps necessary to comply with labor-relations law. If you have union workers, you owe it to yourself to learn how they'll probably conduct their next election.
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07/15/2010
There’s at least one upside to having a unionized workforce: Employees who have disagreements over pay or benefits generally have to use the arbitration process authorized in the union contract to pursue their claims. Your collective-bargaining agreement can save employers from expensive trips to the federal courts.
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07/02/2010
Q. A group of our employees recently voted to strike. To ensure that our operations aren’t disrupted, we would like to hire replacement workers. When the strike ends, will we be required to reinstate the strikers?
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