Employers, especially manufacturers, are facing a new (old) challenge in unionized work forces: strikes. The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows U.S. workers are more likely to strike today than at any other time in the last 30 years. This should prompt employers with unionized workforces to review their strike preparedness plans.
Articles Discussing Labor Union and Employee StrikesArticles Discussing Labor Union and Employee Strikes
NLRB General Counsel Wants More Clarity and Employee Protection for Intermittent Strikes
On October 3, 2016, the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for the National Labor Relations Board asked the NLRB to clarify and broaden the protection afforded employees who engage in intermittent and partial strikes.
NLRB Scrutinizes Employer Motivation in Hiring Replacement Workers During Strike
Denying a motion for reconsideration, the National Labor Relations Board recently affirmed its decision in American Baptist Homes of the West d/b/a Piedmont Gardens, addressing the relevance of an employer’s motive in hiring permanent replacement workers for economic strikers. 364 NLRB No. 95 (Aug. 24, 2016). As a result, in cases involving allegations that an employer unlawfully hired permanent replacements, motivation will be a focal point of any investigation, and any “retaliatory” conduct by an employer in response to economic strikers could violate the National Labor Relations Act and require that the employer pay full back pay to permanently replaced economic strikers.
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