By: Michael J. Rybicki, Esq.
Today Wisconsin became the 25th state to pass right to work legislation applicable to private sector employers. Most private employers are covered by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), which originally permitted collective bargaining agreements to provide for the termination of any employee who failed to join or…
By: Marc R. Jacobs, Esq.
On January 13, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150’s bid for the full circuit court to rehear the September 2, 2014 panel decision upholding the Indiana law. Five of the ten active judges on the Seventh…
By: Marc R. Jacobs
On November 6, 2014, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the ruling of a superior court judge and held that the Indiana Right to Work Law does not violate the Indiana Constitution. Zoeller v. Sweeney, Case No. 45S00-1309-PL-596 (2014) (“Sweeney”).
The Indiana state law challenge decided in Sweeney raised…
By: Ronald J. Kramer, Esq.
It is black letter law that states can prohibit contracts from requiring bargaining unit members to pay money to unions, right? Maybe not, at least according to the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit. On September 2, 2014, the Seventh Circuit upheld Indiana’s Right to Work Act in a…
By: Marc R. Jacobs, Esq.
As we reported in a prior blog post, in February 2012, Indiana became the 23rd state, and the first in the “Rust Belt” to pass a “right-to-work” law. In short, as applied to collective bargaining agreements that expired or are renewed, modified or extended after March 14, 2012,…
By: Bradford L. Livingston, Esq. (Seyfarth Department Chair for Labor Relations Practice Group)
Rational business people focus on selling products and services that consumers want. But these same business people also must understand that consumer wants and needs change over time. In fact, business school case studies are replete with examples of now-defunct organizations, and…
By: David L. Streck
Jeanette Geary filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that a local nursing union illegally forced her and others to pay for union lobbying or lose their jobs. Although the NLRB held that the union could require such payments, it had requested further briefs before issuing a final appealable order.
On…
A lot of ink has been spilled over the “December Massacre,” when the Board issued a plethora of decisions severely limiting or eliminating many long-standing employer rights. But the Board didn’t stop there; it also seriously eroded the rights of employees who are nonmember dues objectors (“objectors”) to limit unions from…
The home of the UAW is now a right-to-work state. On December 11, 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law two bills that will make Michigan a right-to-work state for both private sector (Senate Bill No. 116) and most public sector (House Bill No. 4003) employees. Michigan follows Indiana, which…
By: Ronald J. Kramer
On June 21, 2012, in Knox et al. v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, the Supreme Court issued a landmark, 5-2-2 decision which held that a union that imposes a special fee or other dues increase mid-year to meet expenses that were not earlier disclosed when the regular dues rates…
