Union Bailout Update

In 2015, T-Mobile established an employee-representative group as a way of securing feedback from front-line employees. The company credited T-Voice, as it called the group, for such changes as free Wi-Fi, mobile phone charging stations, and spa days. The Communication Workers of America (CWA) filed a ULP, and an NLRB judge upheld the charge, claiming the group “unlawfully establishes and maintains a dominated labor organization.” T-Mobile President John Legere has blasted the ruling and declared his intent to fight it. The NLRB struck down another arbitration agreement. This time the board did not rely on D.R. Horton because there was no explicit provision in the agreement that limited class or collective actions.  As the National Law Review article outlines, the agreement was struck down because

1) As drafted, employees would reasonably construe it as limiting or prohibiting them from filing charges with the NLRB; and 2) a confidentiality provision within the agreement that prohibited employees from discussing anything related to arbitration proceedings, even those related to terms and conditions of employment, was overly broad and infringed on employees’ rights to discuss such issues under the National Labor Relations Act.

The NLRB and the Teamsters filed suit against a company for selling off driving routes that Teamster drivers formerly handled for the company. The company had been without a ratified contract since 2012. There are several stories on the employer side of the ledger this month. First up, an NLRB judge in Las Vegas ruled that a manager did not conduct unlawful surveillance when he checked a laid-off employee’s Facebook page. The employee was not hired back because she had posted “horrible things” about the company. In March, President Trump repealed the Obama blacklisting rule affecting federal contractors. The House has proposed a new bill that would change FLSA options re: overtime for non-exempt employees.  Under the current FLSA, employees cannot be offered comp time in lieu of overtime. The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017 would change that, allowing one and one half hours of comp time for each hour of overtime worked, with the employee allowed to choose between pay or time. The Texas senate is backing two labor-related bills, one requiring parental consent before a minor can join a union, and the other elimination the state’s paycheck deduction collection of dues from most state employees. Police, fire and emergency responders would be exempt.