Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Are Trojan Horse Union Organizers "Employees"?: A New Look At Deference To The Nlrb's Iterpretation Of Nlra Section 2(3), Jonathan D. Hacker

Michigan Law Review

This Note takes a different approach to interpreting section 2(3). Although this Note agrees that section 2(3) neither clearly includes nor clearly excludes trojan horse organizers, it also argues that the definition of employee under section 2(3) must be determined by looking to common law principles of agency. In other words, the question whether courts should defer to the Board's interpretation of section 2(3) does not turn on statutory ambiguity. Rather, courts have a continuing duty to ensure that the Board interprets employee consistently with common law agency principles. Nevertheless, the correct interpretation of employee under agency principles ultimately turns …

Fair Notice: Assuring Victims Of Unfair Labor Practices That Their Rights Will Be Respected, John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

Employers should always be required to read notices aloud to their workers as a standard remedy for violations of the National Labor Relations Act. Such a remedy would be a small but essential step in redressing the harm inflicted on workers by an employer’s unfair labor practices. Such notices are necessary for a series of reasons. First, millions of Americans suffer from reading deficiencies and cannot comprehend a printed notice. Second, even literate employees may not happen to observe the printed notice at the workplace. Third, a mere piece of paper is unlikely to reassure victims of unfair labor practices …

Between The Buttons: Employer Distribution Of Antiunion Insignia, John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

Employers should be forbidden from offering antiunion insignia to their workers. This is not contrary to current labor rules that allow employers and their supervisors to wear insignia. The workers' rights would still be safeguarded because employees would remain free to buy or create their own antiunion insignia. The goal is to protect the right of workers to debate, campaign, and vote on unionization with no harm to legitimate needs for self expression.

Generally, workers are entitled to wear campaign insignia regardless of whether it supports or decries unionization. In this manner, workers can openly proclaim their beliefs and seek …

The Legacy Of Industrial Pluralism: The Tension Between Individual Employment Rights And The New Deal Collective Bargaining System, Katherine V.W. Stone

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Nlrb's Deferral Policy And Union Reform: A Union Perspective, Leonard Page, Daniel W. Sherrick

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this Article outlines the government's approach to civil RICO actions involving labor unions, including an overview of the government's prior civil RICO actions and a summary of the types of issues that often arise in such actions. Part II examines the unique issues involved in a civil RICO action brought by a private plaintiff. The principal issue addressed in this Part is whether a private plaintiff can bring an action under the equitable remedies provisions of the RICO statute. This Part also addresses the issues of how a private plaintiff can gain access to information that may …

Deferral And The Dissident, Paul Alan Levy

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

I discuss two examples involving a dissident group, Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), that vividly illustrate the problems with NLRB deferral. I then examine the development and evolution of the NLRB's policies concerning deferral to arbitration. Next, I review the statutory- and policy-based arguments advanced for and against deferral. I attempt to assess the best reasons given for the deferral doctrine, while showing why, at least in its current incarnation, NLRB deferral doctrine is contrary to the requirements of the NLRA. More specifically, I show that, to the extent that deferral has some legitimate basis, it is founded on …

Recent Supreme Court Employment Law Decisions, 1990-91, Terry A. Bethel

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Government And Union Democracy, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

The desirability of union democracy is generally regarded today as a self-evident proposition. In this Symposium Clyde Summers treats it as a "fundamental premise." But there have always been reputable scholars who would support the thesis, in greater or lesser degree, that "democracy is as inappropriate within the international headquarters of the UAW as it is in the front office of General Motors."

Inadvisable Advice: Limits On Employers' Counseling Of Employees With Regard To Unfair Labor Practice Proceedings, John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

The National Labor Relations Board frequently interviews or subpoenas employees to help determine whether an employer has committed an unfair labor practice. Many employers, however, have advised their employees that they may refuse to cooperate with the Board's efforts. Professor Teeter argues that such advice has an inherent tendency to coerce employees and to frustrate the Board's vindication of their statutory rights. After reviewing the inconsistent approaches tribunals have taken to this problem, the author recommends that employers be prohibited from counseling employees regarding their participation in the Board's proceedings. Professor Teeter concludes that the Board itself should be the …

A Primer On Power Balancing Under The National Labor Relations Act, James B. Zimarowski

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The focus of this Article is twofold. First, it addresses the substantive power control mechanisms established and regulated by the National Labor Relations Board (Board) and the courts. Second, it examines the power balancing methodology embraced by these dispute resolution forums. This Article takes the position that power balancing analysis designed to achieve the NLRA's multidimensional policies is a more fruitful endeavor than the analysis of economic efficiency or a partisan approach subject to political considerations.

Keeping The Camel's Nose Out Of The Tent: The Constitutionality Of N.L.R.B. Jurisdiction Over Employees Of Religious Institutions, Ellyn S. Rosen

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Substantiating "Competitive Disadvantage" Claims: A Broad Reading Of Truitt, Brandon David Lawniczak

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the broad reading of Truitt is correct. It advocates a broad rule which would require an employer to disclose substantiating financial information to its employees' union whenever it claims that meeting a proposed wage demand would place the firm at a competitive disadvantage. Because the appropriateness of substantiating financial information is factually dependent, this Note will not focus on the type or amount of information that should be disclosed. Instead, it will focus on the legal and policy justifications for a broad disclosure rule. Part I reviews Truitt and discusses the various interpretations given to it …

Nlrb Guidelines For Determining Health Care Industry Bargaining Units: Judicial Acceptance Or Back To The Drawing Board, John Robert Shelton

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Labor Law's Alter Ego Doctrine: The Role Of Employer Motive In Corporate Transformations, Gary Alan Macdonald

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the differing judicial approaches for reviewing NLRB alter ego findings, and concludes that a fundamental problem with all of the current approaches is the unwarranted consideration of motive in varying degrees. This Note proposes a modified "reasonably foreseeable benefit" standard which does not depend in any degree on the employer's motive for changing its corporate form. Part I discusses the origin and evolution of the alter ego doctrine, including its genesis in Southport Petroleum, the well-settled Crawford Door factors, and the related "successorship" doctrine. Part II analyzes the conflict among the federal courts of appeals over …

Judicial Enforcement Of Nlrb Bargaining Orders: What Influences The Courts?, Terry A. Bethel, Catherine A. Melfi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Prevention Of Antiunion Discrimination In The United States, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Nearly all rank-and-file employees in private businesses of any substantial size in the United States are protected by federal law against antiunion discrimination. The Railway Labor Act applies to the railroad and airline industries. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) applies to all other businesses whose operations "affect [interstate] commerce" in almost any way. Supervisory and managerial personnel, domestic servants, and agricultural workers are excluded from this federal scheme. Separate federal law covers the employees of the federal government. About thirty of the fifty states have statutes ensuring the right to organize on the part of some or most of …

Deferral To Arbitration And Use Of External Law In Arbitration, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

proper definition of the appropriate roles of arbitrators, administrative agencies and the courts depends in great part on the notion that, generally speaking, in labor relations, the interpretation and application of contracts is for arbitrators, and the interpretation and application of statutes is for the administrative agencies and the courts. Arbitrators deal primarily with contract rights and administrative agencies, like the NLRB and the courts, deal primarily with statutory rights. If that distinction is maintained, the problems of deferral to arbitration and the use of external law in arbitration can be more easily resolved.

The Vote And Impound Procedure: Not Always A Guardian Of Employee Free Choice, Vilda Samuel Laurin Iii

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Nlrb And The Negotiation Process: A Proposal For A Procedural Fairness Standard Of Review For Unfair Labor Practice Settlements, Andrew F. Fuller

Washington Law Review

This Comment will show that the Board's policy of stringent review of the substantive terms of formal settlements is contrary to the purpose of the NLRA. The policy discourages and causes rejection of settlement agreements. In addition, the policy is inconsistent with the negotiation process and with other Board policies. As an alternative to its present policy of stringent substantive review, this Comment proposes that the Board implement a procedural fairness standard of review. This proposed standard would further the purposes of the NLRA and would provide for a realistic degree of review in terms of the negotiation process. Moreover, …

Nonmajority Bargaining Orders: The Only Effective Remedy For Pervasive Employer Unfair Labor Practices During Union Organizing Campaigns, David S. Shillman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Current Board policy forbids issuing a bargaining order in this situation, where there is no objective evidence of majority support for a union, even though the bargaining ·order may be the only effective remedy for extreme employer unfair labor practices. The Board's refusal to issue nonmajority bargaining orders (NMBOs), grounded in its fear of imposing a union on unwilling employees, has left it impotent to remedy the most severe employer unfair labor practices. This Note examines arguments for and against the Board's use of NMBOs and concludes that NMBOs are within the scope of the Board's remedial powers and should …

Collective Bargaining And The Coase Theorem, Stewart J. Schwab

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Protecting Worker Complaints After Meyers Industries, Barbara J. Fick

Journal Articles

This Article examines the effect of the Meyers Industries decision on the protection available to workers under the NLRA, and discusses other statutory and common-law remedies protecting workers now foreclosed from NLRA protection as a result of Meyers Industries.

Integrity And Circumspection: The Labor Law Vision Of Bernard D. Meltzer, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Bernard Meltzer has testified under oath that he "rarely take[s] absolute positions." The record bears him out. While his colleagues among labor law scholars often strain to demonstrate that the labor relations statutes and even the Constitution support their hearts' desires, the typical Meltzer stance is one of cool detachment, pragmatic assessment, and cautious, balanced judgment. The "itch to do good," Meltzer has remarked wryly, "is a doubtful basis for jurisdiction" -or, he would likely add, for any other legal conclusion. In this brief commentary I propose to examine the Meltzer approach to four broad areas of labor law: (1) …

Picketing, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Book Chapters

Picketing typically consists of one or more persons patrolling or stationed at a particular site, carrying or wearing large signs with a clearly visible message addressed to individuals or groups approaching the site. Some form of confrontation between the pickets and their intended addressees appears an essential ingredient of picketing. Congress and the National Labor Relations Board have distinguished between picketing and handbilling, however, and merely passing out leaflets without carrying a placard does not usually constitute picketing. What stamps picketing as different from more conventional forms of communication, for constitutional and other legal purposes, ordinarily seems to be the …

A Proposal To End Nlrb Deferral To The Arbitration Process, Cornelius J. Peck

Washington Law Review

In January 1984 the NLRB, reconstituted by President Reagan's appointees, announced significant changes in the Board's policies concerning deferral to the arbitration processes established by employers and unions in their collective bargaining agreements. The new policies are redolent with the politics of a changed administration rather than expertise in labor relations. The changes continue the Board's uncertain treatment of the relationship between its jurisdiction to prevent unfair labor practices and arbitrators' decisions concerning collective bargaining agreements. The newly announced policies are consistent with the conviction that the federal government should sharply reduce its regulatory activities, transferring its previous responsibilities to …

Federal Regulation Of The Workplace In The Next Half Century, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Even the general circulation press, from the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times to Business Week, has taken to examining the current malaise of the labor movement and the increased emphasis upon ensuring the safety, health, and economic security of employees through direct governmental regulation rather than through collective bargaining. What accounts for this upsurge of scholarly and popular interest in labor relations and labor law? There are undoubtedly multiple causes but I should like to focus on a couple of reasons that seem preeminent to me.

Profiting From Unfair Labor Practices: A Proposal To Regulate Management Representatives, Terry A. Bethel

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Legal Barriers To Worker Participation In Management Decision Making, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Collective bargaining lies at the heart of the union-management relationship. It is the end and purpose of the whole effort to protect employees against reprisals when they form an organization to represent them in dealing with their employers. Collective bargaining is grounded in the belief that industrial strife will be checked, and the workers' lot bettered, if workers are given an effective voice in determining the conditions of their employment. My thesis is that federal law, even while placing the force of government behind collective bargaining, has so artificially confined its scope that the process has been seriously impeded from …

The Propriety Of Section 10(J) Bargaining Orders In Gissel Situations, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The courts have split on the question of whether a bargaining order constitutes ''just and proper" relief under section 10(j). This Note contends that such an order is always just in a Gissel situation but that a district court may properly issue one only in situations where the Board's prior decisions clearly establish the relevant labor policy and indicate a high probability that the Board will eventually issue a Gissel bargaining order. Part I of the Note develops the criteria relevant to determining what kind of temporary relief is "just." Although section 10(j) does not itself define these criteria, the …

Union Representatives As Corporate Directors: The Challenge To The Adversarial Model Of Labor Relations, Robert A. Mccormick

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article addresses these questions first by discussing the predominant philosophical approach adopted by unions in their dealings with management, and then describing several ways in which the labor laws reflect this traditional model of employment relations by showing, first, that the influence of unions has been limited to circumscribed categories of business decisions. The Article next examines decisions made by the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") and the courts that have carefully sought to separate employer from employee, assuming their interests to be inherently antagonistic. Then follows an evaluation of the NLRB's treatment of deviations from the traditional model …