Union Activity Archives - Kollman & Saucier P.A.

Union Misconduct During A Strike May Result In State Court Liability

Peter Saucier

06/01/2023

Decades ago, the Supreme Court interpreted the National Labor Relations Act to afford unions and strikers special immunity from state court liability for damages resulting from a strike. Named after a 1959 Supreme Court decision, that so-called Garmon exemption doctrine, in the words of the Supreme Court, “tells us not just what law applies (federal law, not state law) but who applies it (the National Labor Relations Board, not the state courts or...

Peter Saucier

01/24/2023

Supreme Court Decisions, Union Activity

Industrial concrete, once prepared, must be poured and set promptly. Glacier Concrete, a mid-sized company in Washington state, sends mixer trucks filled with concrete to jobsites every day. In 2017, some 13 mixer trucks filled with concrete were on the road when the Teamsters Union called a strike among the drivers of Glacier Concrete. Many of the mixer truck drivers returned their trucks to the company yard, filled with wet concrete, and walked...

Vincent Jackson

10/20/2022

Labor Law, Union Activity

In a fascinating intersection of labor relations and trademark law, Medieval Times has sued a newly-formed union for improperly adopting and using its MEDIEVAL TIMES® trademark. The case, filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on October 13, 2022, seeks an injunction against the Union—Medieval Times Performers United—for unauthorized misappropriation of the MEDIEVAL TIMES mark. Medieval Times (the...

Darrell VanDeusen

04/13/2022

Agency Activity, Labor Law, Union Activity

Earlier this week I wrote about some developments in labor law. I thought my second blog would be about something completely different. But wait, there’s more. On Wednesday, April 12, the NLRB’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, through her deputy GC, filed a brief to the Board that claims a former NLRB associate general counsel – in 1969 – “misrepresented controlling board law” in an argument before the U.S. Supreme Court,...

Darrell VanDeusen

04/11/2022

Agency Activity, Labor Law, Union Activity

It has been a big last few weeks in labor law circles. First, Amazon got unionized in New York by a little-known independent union that didn’t even exist 18 months ago. President Biden expressed support for the unionizing of Amazon workers saying “Amazon, here we come” in a recent speech. The President, of course, has been and continues to be a strong supporter of unions. But, as reported in the New York Times, “organized labor has...

Kollman & Saucier

04/08/2022

Agency Activity, Labor Law, Union Activity

In an April 7, 2022 Memorandum to Regional Directors, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced that she will be asking the NLRB to outlaw so-called "captive audience" meetings. Captive audience meetings refer to meetings between employers and employees during an employee's paid work time where the employee is required to listen to the employer (or its representative) explain the company's position on unions. Such meetings have long been...

Jordan Dunham

08/16/2021

Labor Law, Union Activity

On April 2021, the employees of an Amazon distribution center located in Bessemer, Alabama overwhelmingly voted against representation, much to the dismay of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. More than half of the nearly 6,000-employee workforce cast votes. Of those votes, more than two-thirds were tallied against representation. Following the election, the Union filed objections, and a NLRB hearing officer has now delivered her...

Clifford Geiger

06/02/2020

Agency Activity, Union Activity

In December 2019 the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a final rule to amend the procedures to be followed in union representation cases. The NLRB said the purpose of the final rule was “to permit parties additional time to comply with various pre-election requirements instituted in 2015, to clarify and reinstate some procedures that better ensure the opportunity for litigation and resolution of unit scope and voter...

Randi Klein Hyatt

04/04/2019

Legislative Developments, Union Activity

In March, New York City Councilman Brian Lander introduced a bill that could change the union gameplan in one of the world’s biggest cities. The bill Lander proposed would put an end to at-will employment in the fast food industry in NYC and require that all terminations be only for just cause. The bill defines "just cause" for termination as an “employee’s failure to satisfactorily perform job duties or misconduct that is demonstrably and...

Darrell VanDeusen

11/12/2018

Agency Activity, NLRB, Union Activity

The National Labor Relations Board, we are told, is supposed to be the neutral government agency that addresses workplace issues between unions and employers. And I saw a pink unicorn on the way to work this morning. It is not unusual to hear employers sometimes suggest they are skeptical of the Board’s supposed “neutral” stance. A number of decisions coming from the NLRB during the Obama presidency could be characterized as...

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Union Misconduct During A Strike May Result In State Court Liability

Frozen Concrete – How Much Does Labor Law Protect “Sabotage”?

Medieval Times Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Newly-Formed Union

More (Possible) Labor Pains

More That’s New in Labor Law

NLRB General Counsel Targets "Captive Audience" Meetings

NLRB Hearing Officer Recommends Ordering of New Election in Alabama Distribution Center

Federal Court Blocks Implementation Of New Election Rules

Could New York City’s New Bill Hurt Unions?

NLRB Union Protests Board Chair and GC

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Category: Union Activity

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