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Chairman John Ring: The NLRB in 2019

By Lauren Sanders on July 9, 2019

On June 27, 2019, NLRB Chairman John Ring spoke at the 36th Carl A. Warns, Jr. and Edwin R. Render Labor and Employment Law Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. Chairman Ring (R), a former management attorney who previously worked for the Teamsters before graduating from law school, was confirmed by the Senate in April 2018. Chairman Ring sought to explain his vision for the NLRB and to give the audience a glimpse of what to…

Vorys on Labor

The NLRB Expands Employer Authority over its Publicly Accessible Spaces

By Nelson Cary & Thomas Loeb on July 3, 2019

In a win for employers’ private property rights, the NLRB last month gave employers greater rights to control how their property is used, including what occurs on publicly accessible spaces within that property, like a cafeteria. In UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, 368 N.L.R.B. No. 2 (2019), the NLRB held that “an employer may prohibit nonemployee union representatives from engaging in promotional activity, including solicitation or distribution in its public cafeteria so long as it applies the…

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UAW Defeated at VW for Second Time

By Allen Kinzer on June 15, 2019

By a vote of 833 to 776, the VW workers in Chattanooga again rejected the UAW. The vote was held from June 12 through June 14, and 93% of those VW workers eligible to vote did cast a ballot in the NLRB-supervised election. This UAW defeat follows the UAW’s defeat in 2014. In this 2019 election, the UAW did manage to improve its percentage of “Yes” votes compared to the 2014 election. In 2014,…

Vorys on Labor

NLRB GC Says Uber Drivers are Independent Contractors

By Nelson Cary on June 4, 2019

Last month, the NLRB General Counsel issued an advice memorandum concluding that Uber drivers are independent contractors. The GC applied the recent NLRB decision in Super Shuttle, which clarified the test applied under the NLRA to determine “employee” status. In the process, it overturned an Obama Board precedent that the NLRB majority held was incorrectly decided. As a result of this action, the GC directed that three different ULP charges filed against Uber be…

Vorys on Labor

NLRB Sets UAW Vote at VW for June 12-14

By Allen Kinzer on June 4, 2019

The NLRB has approved a stipulated election agreement between Volkswagen and the UAW for a vote to be held from June 12 through June 14. Close to 1,800 production and maintenance VW employees at the Chattanooga facility will be eligible to vote in the election. Polling times are spread across three days with the vote count beginning after polls close at 8:00 p.m., Friday, June 14. To clear the legal path for this NLRB vote,…

Vorys on Labor

Ohio Federal Lawsuit Challenges Union Members’ Rights to Resign From Union

By Tom Crookes on May 10, 2019

On April 29th, the latest test of the Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018) decision was filed. Janus made it unconstitutional to require public sector employees to become union members and pay union dues as a condition of employment and effectively eliminated union “fair share” fees. In this latest challenge, three employees of Kent State University sued the Council 8 AFSCME, Kent State University, and University Trustees challenging the restrictions the…

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Three Times a Charm? UAW Files Third Election Petition to Represent VW Chattanooga Workers

By Allen Kinzer on April 10, 2019

On April 9, 2019, the UAW filed a third election petition with the NLRB to represent workers at Volkswagen’s manufacturing facility in Chattanooga. With this new petition, the UAW seeks to represent about 1,700 production and maintenance workers at the VW facility. In 2014, the UAW lost an election to represent the same VW group by a vote of 712 to 626. Following the defeat, the UAW filed a second petition to represent a micro-unit…

Vorys on Labor

A Bad Week for Unions: The NLRB and NLRB GC Focus on Union “Membership” and the Money

By Nelson Cary on March 7, 2019

The NLRA permits employers and unions to agree to “union security” clauses in a collective bargaining agreement. This clause requires employees to join the union (and pay dues) or lose their job with the employer. Congress imposed this “membership” obligation on employees to eliminate what some call the “free rider” problem. The NLRA requires a union to represent all employees in a bargaining unit. Without the union security provision, an employee might reap the benefits…

Vorys on Labor

Nondiscriminatory Signage Ban Deflates Scabby the Rat

By Nelson Cary & Lauren Sanders on February 26, 2019

The Seventh Circuit recently ruled that a municipality’s nondiscriminatory ban of all private signs from the public roads and right-a-ways could be used to take down Scabby the Rat. Scabby is a giant, inflatable balloon that is available in sizes 6 to 25 feet tall. (The website the court cited in its opinion is here, for the curious!) Unions have historically used Scabby (or other inflatables) to draw attention to labor disputes by posting…

Vorys on Labor

NLRB Revisits and Clarifies Test for Independent Contractors; Overturns 2014 NLRB Decision

By Nelson Cary & Lauren Sanders on January 28, 2019

The Trump NLRB continues to revisit, and overturn, Obama-era decisions. Late last week, in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the NLRB revisited the test for determining when a worker is an independent contractor, and in the process overruled the Obama NLRB’s decision in FedEx Home Delivery. First, however, a little background information. As we have previously discussed, employees may join unions; independent contractors may not. Thus, whether a worker is an employee or an independent…

Vorys on Labor

Insights for the Labor Relations Professional

Blog Authors

Chairman John Ring: The NLRB in 2019

The NLRB Expands Employer Authority over its Publicly Accessible Spaces

UAW Defeated at VW for Second Time

NLRB GC Says Uber Drivers are Independent Contractors

NLRB Sets UAW Vote at VW for June 12-14

Ohio Federal Lawsuit Challenges Union Members’ Rights to Resign From Union

Three Times a Charm? UAW Files Third Election Petition to Represent VW Chattanooga Workers

A Bad Week for Unions: The NLRB and NLRB GC Focus on Union “Membership” and the Money

Nondiscriminatory Signage Ban Deflates Scabby the Rat

NLRB Revisits and Clarifies Test for Independent Contractors; Overturns 2014 NLRB Decision

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