The National Labor Relations Board’s top legal counsel made a formal move to make anti-union meetings during union campaigns illegal and to reinstate the Joy Silk doctrine. This labor law, long exalted, would make it much easier for workers to organize.
The office of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo urged the board to reject Monday’s legal brief in a case between the Teamsters & Cemex Construction Materials Pacific. a 1956 caseThis allowed employers to force workers into mandatory meetings to feed them anti-union propaganda.
The labor board was also asked by the office to reinstate Joy Silk through overruling a 1974 case The board had already ruled against the doctrine. It was thrown out of useIn the 1960s. The Joy Silk doctrine ensures that if workers approach their employer with proof that a majority of the workplace wants a union, the employer can’t reject their request without having legitimate “good faith doubt” about a majority among the workers.
As it’s relatively rare for employers to have concerns about workers forming a union other than simply not wanting them to, this would bypass the need for union elections in many cases, greatly reducing opportunities for employers to union bust.
Joe Biden appointee Abruzzo has been advocating for labor reforms and last week issued a memo arguing that captive audience meetings are “inherently” unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act.
She also stated that the time period between a union filing and the election is the same for many employers who hold such meetings. is a “critical period”Anti-union employers. “They want time to coerce and intimidate workers to not vote for the union,” she said in an interview with More Perfect Union in February.
The NLRB personnel finally accepted Dominick L. Mannoli, former Associate General Counsel to the Supreme Court, as the reason for abandoning the Joy Silk doctrine. This was a major turning point in labor law, which has been largely ignored. pic.twitter.com/ZYEaqvhNn2
— Brandon Magner (@BrandonMagner) April 12, 2022
“Joy Silk is logically superior to current Board law’s ability to deter election interference,” Monday’s brief says, explaining that current legal frameworks require the NLRB to be reactive to unfair labor practices charges during a union drive rather than allowing the agency to examine employers’ motivations when they refuse to bargain with their workers. These frameworks allow for labor law violations to be prevented, according to the brief.
“After the Board replaced Joy Silk, the commission of unfair labor practices during election campaigns, including unlawful discharges, increased dramatically,” the brief explains. “In turn, the number of elections fell precipitously and, as a result, the rate of unionization now rests near all-time lows.”
Labor leaders and advocates have urged NLRB to reinstate Joy Silk. This would make it easier to form a Union and could protect workers. Do not sufferEmployers can abuse workers’ rights to union representation.
“Reinstating Joy Silk in its original form would stop employers from playing games and refusing to recognize a union when workers have unquestionable proof of majority support and would deter employers from unlawfully interfering in organizing campaigns,” wrote American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Liz Shuler on Tuesday. “Reinstating Joy Silk in its original form would be a huge win for workers everywhere.”
Joy Silk can be reintroduced to use and could help propel the labor movement. Workers have been revitalizingIn recent months and years. Union membership has been decliningFor decades, it was partly due to lax and employee friendly labor laws.
