Earlier today the NLRB launched a new webpage that, according to the NLRB, “describes the rights of employees to act together for their mutual aid and protection, even if they are not in a union.” The new webpage provides — literally — a map to the Board’s view of labor relations. While the NLRA protects both the right to engage in protected conduct and the right to refrain from protected conduct, the map on the webpage pinpoints 13 occasions of employees who were allegedly punished by employers for engaging in protected conduct, but could not pinpoint a single employee who was punished by a union for refraining from protected conduct. Tellingly, the webpage‘s copy of the NLRA has the “engaging” clause written in bold font while the “refraining” clause is not. At least the Board can be commended for its candor about what it thinks is important.
The webpage is an example of the Board’s engaging in outreach. Too few employees know of their rights, according to the current Democrat-dominated Board, and the Board is setting out to fix this in a number of ways, in its social media roles, in its scrutiny of employer handbooks that might “chill” rights under the NLRA, and on and on. But if the Board is going to reach out, it should at least give the appearance of advancing all employees’ rights, not just those on the union side of the street.