A Change of Heart for the NLRB?

(This article first appeared in the November/December 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

In a string of recent decisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled decisively in favor of workers. As a result, President Barack Obama may end up doing more for workers than any president in three decades.

On Aug. 27, the NLRB issued a momentous ruling that may make it easier for McDonald’s workers to unionize.

The board concluded that McDonald’s should be considered a “joint employer” with its franchisees, which means a union representing McDonald’s workers would be entitled to bargain with the fast-food corporation, not thousands of individual franchisees.

The 3-2 party-line vote reverses a 34-year precedent.

Although the franchisees are technically independent businesses, NLRB General Counsel Richard F. Griffin Jr. argued that McDonald’s is a joint employer because of the control it exercises over them.

Five More

The board subsequently issued five additional decisions in favor of unions on less-momentous matters, ranging from whether a worker may demand that a union rep be present during a drug test (yes) to whether an employer may exclude union reps from voluntary peer review committees (no).

Another NLRB rule that restricts litigation by management prior to a union organizing vote has, since its April implementation, shortened by 40 percent the time it takes to conduct a union election, according to the Wall Street Journal. Shorter election periods are considered more advantageous to union organizing.

It’s Not Over Yet

More NLRB targets lie ahead, including another case on the joint employer issue and a possible injunction against Walmart concerning store closures in California.

President Obama met stiff resistance from Republicans in the Senate when he tried to fill vacancies on the NLRB board, but after former Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened to break the Senate’s procedural traditions, the nominees were confirmed.

The next real opportunity for GOP mischief will be when Democrat Kent Y. Hirozawa’s NLRB term ends. Republicans will likely block a replacement and create a deadlocked 2-2 board. But that won’t be until August 2016. Until then, the NLRB is free to continue its work.

COPA-Matic Winners!

Listed below are the 2014-2015 winners for the annual COPA Cash Incentive for Locals, States and Retiree Chapters where 10 percent or more of the members are making COPA-Matic contributions to the union’s Committee on Political Action.

• Lehigh Valley Area Local $375
• Philadelphia BMC Local $250
• Lincoln Area Local $150
• Erie Area Local $150
• Rockford Area Local $150
• Reading Area Local $150
• Waterloo Local $50
• Salem Area Local $50
• Aurora Local $50
• Norfolk Local $50
• Springfield Local $50
• Dubuque Local $50

COPA-Matic contributions are automatic, recurring contributions made through our Ten to Win program for active members and through annuity allotments via OPM for retired members. Congratulations for a job well done!

To find out more about COPA, please visit the Legislative and Political pages of www.apwu.org or call 202-842-4211.

Lake Geauga Area Local VP Christi Twarogowski and President Thomas Benson met with U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) over the summer to discuss House Resolution 54, which would reverse degraded service standards.