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


Perhaps I should have called this the "Right to Work" edition...given that several posts this past week touched on right to work related topics.  With that being said, the news that the Marriott hotel strike ended earlier this week deserves to take center stage, given the long drawn out (and often times contentious) nature of that strike.

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


With Approval of New Contract, Strike By Marriott Workers Ends

Readers will recall that the strike by Marriott hotel workers had gained widespread attention over the past couple of months.  While workers in Hawaii recently approved a new contract and ended their strike, other hotel workers remained on strike.  At long last, on Monday, the strike officially ended when hotel workers in San Francisco approved a contract that will see many receive pay raises and better protections against sexual harassment.  While progress was somewhat slow in contract negotiations, this news will likely be viewed as a victory by both sides.


Missouri Lawmakers Lack Appetite to Revisit Right to Work

After voters in Missouri resoundingly voted down a right to work ballot initiative in August, some right to work advocates held out hope that the Missouri Legislature would still get involved and make Missouri the next right to work state.  However, as KCUR reports, it appears legislators in the state have no interest in pursuing the matter further with the recently elected Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz stating recently that voters had already decided on the matter and that was the end of it.  For those hoping Missouri would become the 29th right to work State, perhaps it is time to turn attention elsewhere...say, Ohio?


Kentucky Supreme Court Upholds State's Right to Work Law

Two right to work related posts in a row?  Hmmm, maybe this should have been dedicated to the topic afterall.  Nevertheless, a case from the Kentucky Supreme Court from mid November in which the Court upheld the state's right to work law should be viewed as one of the paramount posts this week.  That case, Zuckerman v. Bevin, found by a 4 - 3 vote that the state's right to work law did not discriminate against unions when compared to other organizations.  David Weisenfeld over at XpertHR has a good write up on the case which includes a link to the Court's opinion.  After some underwhelming news out of Missouri and Ohio in regard to right to work, right to work advocates should look at this Kentucky Supreme Court opinion as a major victory.


National Labor Relations Board Urged to Scrap Several Pro-Union Decisions

On Monday, the National Right to Work Foundation sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") and asked the NLRB to scrap several recent pro-union decisions, including a decision which protects unions' status when a new owner takes over a business; a decision which prevents decertification efforts for a period of time after a settlement with an employer; and a decision which held that unions cannot be challenged for three years after it has negotiated a contract with an employer.  The National Right to Work Foundation has urged the NLRB to expand the scope of its rulemaking to address these matters.  (Readers might recall that NLRB rulemaking was in the news earlier this year when it was discussed being used to change the joint employer standard).  Whether this letter will spur the NLRB to act remains to be seen.  Stay tuned.


Chicago Teachers Launch Country’s First Charter School Strike

Tuesday marked the first day that school teachers in Chicago began their strike, a first at a charter school in the country.  As Rebecca Burns writes, the teachers are seeking higher pay, increased teacher diversity, smaller class sizes, and a shorter teaching year.  While the teachers had voted to authorize a strike back in October, it was not until talks broke down late Monday evening did the reality of the strike come into focus.  With the strike by these charter school teachers, approximately 7,000 students and their parents are affected.  Some have pointed out that since these charter school teachers have private employers, any labor action they take is governed by the National Labor Relations Act.  As a result, that means their employer can lawfully fire them for any collective action they take, unlike public school teachers that would instead be protected since they are employed by a school district.  In layman’s terms, that means these charter school teachers can be fired for going on strike this week.  Something tells me things are likely to ramp up on both sides of the aisle over the coming days.  Stay tuned.

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