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The Legal Environment of the Workplace: Immigration and Labor Law

The Legal Environment of the Workplace: Immigration and Labor Law . Joan G. Hill, Attorney Education and Membership Development United Steelworkers International Union Nashville. Immigration on the Rise?. The Impact of NAFTA

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The Legal Environment of the Workplace: Immigration and Labor Law

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  1. The Legal Environment of the Workplace: Immigration and Labor Law Joan G. Hill, Attorney Education and Membership Development United Steelworkers International Union Nashville

  2. Immigration on the Rise? The Impact of NAFTA The need for verification of employment – state legislation to penalize employers Vulnerable work force subject to S&H issues and wage theft under VISA programs No path to legal immigration

  3. Current Framework • Employment Verification through I-9 (issue of authenticating documents and use of SS data base) • Employer sanctions for “knowing” violations • ICE

  4. Broken system

  5. Proposed Reforms under BSEOIMA of 2013

  6. Modern Day Labor Legislation National Labor Relations Act – Wagner Act, 1935 • Policy to encourage collective bargaining and reduce industrial strife • Establish §7 Rights, Employer ULPs, and Certification Procedures and the NLRB • Union membership increased 4x over the next 7 years.

  7. Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) of 1947 - Taft-Hartley Act • Amendments to the NLRA which “balanced” the rights of labor and management by establishing unfair labor practices on the part of labor unions. • Re-invented the “labor injunction” prohibited by Norris-LaGuardia in 1932 • Employees had right to refrain from joining union • Unions were an entity to sue and be sued

  8. The Act states that the term "employee" shall include any employee exceptthe following: • Agricultural laborers • Domestic servants • Any individual employed by his parent or spouse. • Independent contractors • Supervisors. • Individuals employed by an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act. • Government employees, including those employed by the U .S. Government, any Government corporation or Federal Reserve Bank, or any State or political subdivision such as a city, town, or school district

  9. Employerunfair labor practices 1. Interference, restraint or coercion directed against union or collective activity 2. Domination of unions 3. Discrimination against those who take part in union activities 4. Retaliation for filing unfair labor practice charges or working with the NLRB 5. Refusal to bargain in good faith with union representative

  10. Unionunfair labor practices (LMRA) • Failure to provide fair representation to all members of the bargaining unit (DFR) 2. Union security violation -- prohibits union from causing employer to violate 8(a)(3) 3. Bad faith bargaining 4. Secondary boycott prohibited 5. Excessive fines and fees 6. Featherbedding – exacting money for work not performed 7. Picketing for recognition without seeking election

  11. Protected Concerted Activity – Rights of Strikers

  12. Subjects of Bargaining Mandatory subjects include any issue that touches on wages, hours, terms or conditions of employment. You can bargain to impasse over these subjects and then engage in a strike or be locked out.

  13. Permissive subjects: • one party may ask to discuss; the other party may refuse. • These subjects are discussed voluntarily; • once the discussion about a permissive subject starts, it can be stopped at any time by either party.

  14. Remedies for Unfair Practices Posting of Notice Back pay for unlawful firings Order to bargain, cease and desist or other equitable remedy

  15. Landrum-Griffin Act (LMRDA) • Regulation of internal union affairs including election of officers (local/national) • Established the “Bill of Rights” for union members; and • Reporting and disclosure requirements for unions, union officers and employers.

  16. The NLRB Today Mark Gaston Pearce D Chair Nancy J. Schiffer D Associate General Counsel to AFLCIO Kent Hirozawa D Former Chief Counsel Harry I Johnson III R Management Lawyer Philip A Miscimarra R Management Lawyer

  17. Organizing 101 Employer controlled? Access to workplace, solicitation and distribution of information Free speech rights: fair election vs. threats and surveillance Workers fired for union activity? Stakeholder involvement – boycotts and corporate campaigns Social Media is the new frontier

  18. Working Non-Union Employment-at-will is the standard Weingarten rights limited at a workplace where employees are not represented by a union Individual vs. group safety issues

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