To mark the 80th birthday of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board apparently decided to make history in 2015. The Board did just that, issuing several ground breaking decisions, and in the process addressed facts and circumstances that could not possibly have been contemplated in 1935. The ramifications of the Board’s
Pennsylvania Strengthens Crimes Code to Remove Certain Exceptions for Crimes Committed By Union Representatives
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently signed a bill into law amending the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. The law eliminates the “union intimidation” loophole and removes certain exceptions that had applied to crimes committed during the course of or in connection with a labor dispute.
Sections 2709(e), 2709.1(e), and 2715 (c.2) of the Crimes Code deal with
One Less Tactic In Organized Labor’s Arsenal: Third Circuit says No To “Tagging”
In Pichler, et al. v. UNITE, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has weighed in on the controversial union organizing tactic known as "tagging." In its effort to organize employees of Cintas Corporation, the largest domestic employer in the industrial laundry industry, UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees) engaged
NOW is the Time for Employers to Gear up for the Employee Free Choice Act (Unions Are)
Sometimes a wait and see approach is the right call when it comes to proposed legislation, but not for nonunion employers facing the possible passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). EFCA will radically change the way unions organize employers by eliminating the “campaign” phase and secret ballot election that have been the hallmark of
NLRB Limits Right to Use Company E-Mail for Union Organizing
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued an important decision concerning employee usage of company e-mail systems for purposes of union solicitation. In The Guard Publishing Company d/b/a The Register-Guard, 351 NLRB No. 70 (2007), the Board narrowly held, by a 3-2 majority, that the Company did not commit an unfair labor practice by maintaining a policy that prohibited the use of e-mail for all “non-job-related solicitations.” The Board held that employees have no statutory right to use their employer’s e-mail system for Section 7 purposes (such as union organizing or engaging in other protected concerted activities). Additionally, the Board modified its approach regarding discriminatory enforcement of employer policies related to solicitation, postings on employee bulletin boards, and other forms of employee communications.
This case raises implications for every employer who either (1) has a union and is concerned about union or employee usage of e-mail or (2) is non-union and wishes to utilize its no solicitation and employee communication policies to help lawfully limit outside solicitations. If a non-union employer waits until union activity actually emerges and then revises its policies, those revisions may be deemed by the NLRB to be unlawfully motivated. Changes to a company’s employee communications policies, particularly no solicitation policies, should be carefully reviewed for legal compliance.
The Guard is a unionized newspaper publisher. The Company’s employee communications systems policy (CSP) stated as follows:
Company communication systems and the equipment used to operate the communication system are owned and provided by the Company to assist in conducting the business of The Register-Guard. Communications systems are not to be used to solicit or proselytize for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations, or other non-job-related solicitations.
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