While extensive high-profile strike activity was heavily reported throughout 2023, it was – striking– to analyze the hard data regarding 2023 strike activity in Bloomberg’s annual report that was just released.  The report details recent work stoppages, explores how 2023 strike activity statistics fit into historical patterns and trends, and looks at possible future strike activity.  A close review of recent strike activity could help portend what we can continue to expect in 2024 – and beyond.    The “First Contract” Walkout Trend Continues The report provides statistical ..read more

On April 8, 2024, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel (“GC”) Jennifer Abruzzo released a Memorandum providing guidance to Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers concerning the GC’s continued efforts to secure full remedies for all victims of unlawful conduct—pushing Regions to turn their focus towards employees harmed by violations under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The GC stated that an employee who has experienced unlawful employer discipline or the effects of an unlawful rule or contract term cannot be made whole th ..read more

On April 8, 2024, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel (“GC”) Jennifer Abruzzo released a Memorandum providing guidance to Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers concerning the GC’s continued efforts to secure full remedies for all victims of unlawful conduct—pushing Regions to turn their focus towards employees harmed by violations under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The GC stated that an employee who has experienced unlawful employer discipline or the effects of an unlawful rule or contract term cannot be made whole th ..read more

On April 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in United Food & Com. Workers’ Union, Loc. No. 293 v. Noah’s Ark Processors, LLC, No. 23-1895 (8th Cir. 2024), upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) decision that a meat processor (“Noah’s Ark”) illegally bargained in bad faith with a local chapter of the United Food & Commercial Workers’ Union (“Union”), and that the processor must, among other remedies, reimburse the Union for negotiating expenses, representing an extreme example of the types of broad remedies that can be ordered by the NLRB for bad-fa ..read more

On March 29, 2024, the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released a final rule amending the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”), clarifying who can serve as an employee representative to accompany the OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer (“CSHO”) during physical workplace inspections.  The final rule broadens employees’ rights to allow outside representatives – including labor union representatives – to join them during safety inspections.  The final rule is set to take effect May 31, 2024. Background The OSH Act requir ..read more

Declaring the NLRB’s rationale to be “nonsense,” on March 26, 2024, a unanimous three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Stern Produce Company Inc v. NLRB, refused to enforce the agency’s finding of unfair labor practices.   The Court held that the petitioner-produce company did not create the impression of surveillance of organizing activity and did not retaliate against an employee for participating in unionization efforts.  The D.C. Circuit’s decision was illuminating in its rejection of the Board’s and the NLRB General Counsel’s rat ..read more

On March 8, just three days before the National Labor Relations Board’s (the “Board”) new joint-employer standard was set to take effect, Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down the new standard, delaying its implementation further.  In his opinion, Judge Barker held that the Board’s joint-employer test is unlawfully broad because an entity could be deemed a joint employer simply by having the right to exercise indirect control over one essential term and condition of employment, even if the entity does not actually exercise that c ..read more

A growing trend of union organizing among undergraduate student workers reached a crescendo last week when a unit of 20,000 student assistants at California State University voted in favor of unionization. California State University Employees Union Election Student assistants across California State University’s 23 campuses have unequivocally voted to form the largest undergraduate student union in history. In April 2023, California State University Employees Union, SEIU Local 2579 filed a petition with the California Public Employment Relations Board (“CPERB”) seeking to represent a unit of ..read more

On February 22, 2024, a judge in the Eastern District Court of Texas issued a stay which will delay the effective start date of the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) new joint-employer rule by 14 days, from February 26, 2024 to March 11, 2024.  We previously reported on this lawsuit filed by the United States Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”), which alleges that the NLRB’s new joint-employer rule is unlawful and should be struck down because it is “arbitrary and capricious.”  The judge’s order states that a full opinion explaining the judge’s reasoning on the stay is forthcomin ..read more

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), in a 3-1 decision, held that an employee’s display on their work uniform of “BLM,” an acronym for Black Lives Matter, constituted protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”).  Accordingly, the NLRB reversed an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) decision, and found that the employer (Home Depot) violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by directing the employee to remove the BLM insignia because it violated the company’s uniform policy.  The employee resigned instead of removing the insignia from their ..read more