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• The Facts On Union Certification By Card Check ( May 2006 )
  

  Union membership in the United States has been declining for years. Fifty years ago, more than a third of America's workforce (about 35%) belonged to a union. Today, the number of union members is higher, but unions represent less than 8% of American workers in the private sector and just 12.5% of all workers. In an effort to reverse this trend, unions are using new tactics to organize workers.

• The Splitting of the AFL-CIO: What It Means to the Nation's Employers ( August 2005 )
  

  The splitting of the AFL-CIO and the emergence of a separate union coalition, Change to Win, means employers must prepare themselves to operate in this new, aggressive union environment.

• Despite Victory for Employer, NLRB Decision Reminds Employers That Improper Handbook Language Can Overturn Election Results ( February 2005 )
  

  Although declining to overturn the results of a representation election in Delta Brands Inc., the NLRB's decision serves as a warning to employers that the Board will continue to scrutinize workplace policies and rules contained in employee handbooks.

• Employers Can Require Separate Bargaining Units for Staffing Agency Employees ( January 2005 )
  

  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), the federal administrative agency that oversees the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), has once again reversed its position on a critical bargaining issue. Several years ago, the Board held that staffing agency employees who shared essential working conditions with the client-employer's regular employees could be included in the same bargaining unit, without either the client-employer's or staffing agency's consent.

• Non-Unionized Employees do not have <em>Weingarten</em> Rights ( February 2005 )
  

  A few years ago, we informed you that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the National Labor Relations Board (Board), the federal agency charged with administrative oversight of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), had ruled that non-unionized employees, like their unionized counterparts, are entitled to co-worker representation during investigatory interviews they believe might result in discipline. This legal entitlement is commonly referred to as <em>Weingarten</em> rights.

• Labor Board Reverses Field on Non-Union Disciplinary Interviews ( September 2004 )
  

  For the third time in 22 years, the National Labor Relations Board changed its mind on whether employers must accede to requests from non-union employees to have co-workers present for investigatory interviews. As recently held in <i>IBM Corp.</i>, 341 NLRB No. 148 (2004), the current view is that employers need not accede to such requests, though they may not retaliate against employees for asking.

• Non-Union Employers Regain the Right to Conduct Investigatory Interviews Without a Co-Worker Present ( July 2004 )
  

  In IBM Corp., the National Labor Relations Board ruled that non-union employers may lawfully refuse an employee's request to have a co-worker present during an investigatory interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline. The Board's ruling is a huge victory for non-union employers.

• NLRB Rules That Weingarten Rights No Longer Apply to Non-Union Workforces ( July 2004 )
  

  On June 9, 2004, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") in <em>IBM Corp.</em>, 341 NLRB No. 148, overruled its <em>Epilepsy Foundation </em>decision, which had granted non-union employees the right to be represented by a co-worker at an investigatory interview that could result in disciplinary action. Prior to the <em>Epilepsy Foundation </em>decision issued in 2000, the Board limited the right to representation at investigatory interviews to union-represented employees.

• Who Counts as a Supervisor Under Current Labor Law? ( August 2003 )
  

  More of your employees may be supervisors than you might think and they may be supervisors in ways which might surprise you.

• Feelings Mixed As Workers Weigh Job Security Post September 11 ( June 2003 )
  

  Key findings have been reported by a new Employment Law Alliance (ELA) poll, focusing on attitudes toward job security in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Contrary to popular perception, more than 60% of American workers are very confident that their employers are doing everything possible to avoid layoffs. Yet mixed feelings exist; workers are very anxious and extremely cautious about their job security.