Labor Relations INK - Labor Relations News, Analysis and Insight
Labor Relations Insight
by Phil Wilson The Return of Workplace Civility? Do you get the feeling that in 2020 everything is dialed up to 11? I sure do. Our country (and the world) face high-stakes issues. Things are emotional. And every conversation seems to have more at stake. There has...
Labor Relations Ink June 2020
In this issue: The end of Quickie Elections? COVID-19, Labor Law and Unions Tech/Media Unions Sticky Fingers, Scoreboard and more… The bottom of each story contains a link to the individual post on our site. ********** Labor Relations Insight by Phil Wilson The End of...
Labor Relations Insight
by Phil Wilson The End of Quickie Elections? Sort of. If there is one thing we’ve learned during this pandemic, it’s flexibility. One day you’re working in the office. The next day you’re “sheltering in place.” Later – especially out here in flyover country – you’re...
Union Bailout Update
The Senate has voted to advance the nominations of current NLRB members Marvin Kaplan and Lauren McFerran to additional terms. If confirmed, this still leaves one unfilled Democratic seat on the board. One bright-line rule to come out of the pandemic crisis relates to...
CoVid, Labor Law and Unions
Contributors Milam and Miller at Above the Law produced a meaty article on the impact of the pandemic on labor issues, and provide much food for thought on navigating the “new normal.” In addressing concerted activity for example, the authors pose the following...
Tech/Media
Facebook has deployed a new tool called Facebook Workplace. It essentially serves as a way for companies to share content with their employees through a medium similar to the newsfeed feature on the original Facebook site. There has been some controversy though around...
Union Corruption
The NLRB ruled this month, after an unfair labor practice charge was filed against the union, that Teamster bosses illegally cut a deal giving pay raises to only the union stewards at a healthcare facility in Fairfield, West Virginia. This is another case of unions...
It’s All Academic
Graduate student unions at both Harvard and Brown reached tentative contract agreements this month. This comes after more than a year of bargaining, in both cases. It also further codifies the role of graduate student worker as employee under the National Labor...
Gig Economy
COVID-19 is moving gig economy companies to extend benefits to contract workers. In some cases, this is a forced move by city ordinances – as in Seattle, where the City Council is now requiring app-based companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart to pay their...
Labor Around The World
U.S. labor unions are speaking up against the arrest of one of Mexico’s top labor activists. Labor attorney, Susana Prieto, was arrested during a protest early this month. AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumpka, among other U.S. labor leaders, say that Prieto’s arrest...
UpJourney Ask Phil About Leaders Who Don’t Communicate Well
UpJourney.com asked Phil to provide help to answer the question, "what do you do when your boss doesn't communicate with you?" Phil points to power distance as a significant culprit, and provides some pointers of how to work toward better communication. It's a useful...
Power Distance: How it Impacts Quality, Safety, and the Bottom Line
By Lori Chovanak King, DNP, RN, APRN-BC Excellent healthcare leaders are just as important as excellent clinicians when it comes patient care. Studies show both have substantial impact on patient outcomes and the organizational bottom line. The best leaders in...
Labor Relations INK May 2020
In this issue: Laboring Toward 2020 Tech/Media Unions Alt-Labor Insight, Sticky Fingers, Scoreboard and more… The bottom of each story contains a link to the individual post on our site. Labor Relations Insight by Phil Wilson A few weeks ago I did a presentation (on...
Labor Relations Insight
by Phil Wilson A few weeks ago I did a presentation (on Zoom, obviously) about virtual campaign communications during a world of social distancing. During that presentation I shared this chart, showing the topics I’ve been asked about most during the pandemic: As you...
Union Bailout Update
We have been tracking the NLRB responses to the pandemic, and maintaining a list of how each region has been handling elections and related issues, based on the experiences of the attorneys and our clients. You can review that web page here. Please email us any...
Laboring Toward 2020
Unionized staffers of Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden have reached a new milestone: the first time a major party's apparent presidential nominee will employ unionized workers under a collective bargaining agreement. The agreement was announced in a joint...
Tech/Media Unions
NLRB officials are approving mail-in ballot elections as a way to keep organizing efforts alive during the pandemic. Examples of this include Instacart workers in Chicago voting to join UFCW, Johnson Control workers in San Antonio voting to join SMART, and Curaleaf...
Alt Labor
The Service Employees International Union is still using its relationship with worker centers to instigate labor action––most recently, with Working Washington (WW) and its attempt to stage a strike against Chipotle utilizing Postmates workers. Postmates is a...
Union Corruption
Just a few months after the FCA-UAW scandal became public, rumors started to circulate about whether or not similar bribes and favors with the union were happening at GM and Ford as well. That was three years ago. GM is officially off the hook. Federal prosecutors...
Gig Economy
Early this month, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Uber and Lyft, claiming that both companies are misclassifying workers as independent contractors. The suit was filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with city attorneys from San...
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