April 29, 2013
By Larry Cary, Esq.
This past week the Obama Administration petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its appeal from the decision of the U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court in Noel Canning v. N.L.R.B. The D.C. Circuit Court’s decision shuts down the National Labor Relations Board by eliminating the U.S. Constitution’s grant of Presidential power to appoint senior federal officials when the Senate is not in session. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case, which will likely be decided sometime in 2014.
Supreme Court Takes Aim at Public-Sector Unions
August 2, 2012
By Larry Cary, Cary Kane LLP
This June the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Knox v. SEIU, which will financially weaken public sector unions.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a special election in 2005. On the ballot were two referendums intended to attack public sector unions and workers.
January 28, 2013
By Larry Cary, Esq.
Ability of NLRB to Function Called into Serious Question.
Historic Constitutional Balance of Appointment Power between the President and the U.S. Senate Threatened.
On January 25, 2013, a three Judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second most important federal court in the Nation, issued a decision in a case called Canning v. N.L.R.B, which calls into question the ability of the NLRB to function because it renders suspect every decision of the NLRB for the past year and any future decisions by the Board until the decision is hopefully reversed by the Supreme Court.
Recent NLRB Decision Makes Organizing Easier
June 13, 2012
By Larry Cary
Last year, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, 375 NLRB No. 83, which radically changed the bargaining unit determination rules for the better. Many organizers have not heard about it but they should know that under the new approach, smaller specific segments of an employer’s workforce can now be organized through NLRB certification elections without having to include other employees, which, as a practical matter, may be less likely to vote for unionization.
January 22, 2013
By Larry Cary
In a recent case, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that employer gathered confidential witness statements used to investigate worker misconduct must be shared with the union during investigation of a disciplinary grievance unless the employer can show it has an overriding confidentiality interest. This reverses the Labor Board’s 34 year old rule allowing employers to refuse to produce such statements to the union.
Unions Responsible for Employer's Withdrawal Liability If...
April 12, 2012
By Larry Cary
When does a union pay an employer’s withdrawal liability from a pension plan? A Federal Court says, when the collective bargaining agreement says it will. An Ohio Federal Appeals Court recently ordered Teamsters Local 89 to reimburse an employer, Shelter Distribution, Inc., when the employer became liable to pay the Teamsters Central States Pension Plan $57,000 in withdrawal liability.
The Right-Wing’s War on Workers
September 3, 2012
By Larry Cary, Cary Kane LLP
Labor Day is usually a time for picnics and parades celebrating the many contributions made by workers and their unions to American society. But today, the labor movement is under fierce attack from many quarters and, now more than ever, working people and organized labor need to know and understand who its enemies are, especially when they work in secret behind closed doors.
Not So Fast
January 11, 2012
By Larry Cary, Partner, Cary Kane LLP
Before a Union Demands Termination of an Employee for Non-payment of Dues, It Should Consult Its Attorney. This December, a union learned the hard way to take care when it exercises its legal rights regarding members who fail to pay their dues on time.
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