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What I've Been Reading This Week: Labor Law Edition


With last week's note highlighting the joint employer bill recently introduced in Congress, I had planned to cover a broader range of articles this week.  While not quite running the gamut on an expansive list of labor & employment law topics, I did read through a few developments on the labor front that justify spending additional time discussing.  Similar to the dispute at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee last year, I think the alleged anti-union tactics at the Nissan plant in Mississippi could turn into a major story.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Seattle Ride Sharing Union Ordinance Survives Challenge

On Tuesday, Judge Robert Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the validity of a Seattle ordinance that lets ride sharing/ride hailing drivers to join labor unions.  Back in 2015 when the ordinance was approved, it was subsequently met with resistance from several groups.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit and sought to block the ordinance, on the grounds that it violated and preempted the National Labor Relations Act.  With the Judge's dismissal of the case, this marks a major victory for labor groups.  (However, an injunction is still in effect which prevents this ordinance from taking effect.  That injunction, entered this past April, will remain in place until another case is resolved).



As Jeff Amy writes, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") has charged Nissan with violating workers' rights by engaging in anti-union activity at one of its Mississippi plants ahead of a union election that started yesterday.  The NLRB issued the complaint last Friday and alleged that Nissan has taken "extreme measures" to influence the election, including threatening to fire employees and close the plant if the more than 4,000 workers at the plant vote to have the United Auto Workers represent them.  A Nissan spokesman quickly got out in front of the story and stated that the company has stayed within the law and had the right to communicate their positions in regard to unionization.  It will be interesting to see the outcome of the election...and how much either side fights the outcome.  Stay tuned.


Senate Confirms One of President Trump's NLRB Nominees

This past Wednesday, the Senate confirmed the first of President Donald Trump's nominees to fill a vacant seat on the NLRB.  Marvin Kaplan was confirmed along party lines, 50 - 48, as widely expected.  Republican Senators John McCain and Richard Burr were absent for the vote...but with Republicans holding a majority vote in the Senate, Kaplan was able to cruise through.  While Republicans such as Virginia Foxx and Tim Walberg cheered the news, Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Patty Murray argued this was evidence of a further assault by the Trump Administration on American workers and labor groups.  However, with President Trump's other NLRB nominee, William Emanuel, likely to be confirmed when the Senate comes back from its August recess, Democrats find themselves in a difficult spot without the votes or much of a way to stop Emanuel's confirmation.

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