Shaun Fain, UAW President, is not only taking a victory lap around the recent contract settlements with the Detroit Three, but he has also repeatedly vowed to organize the other non-union auto manufacturers and their suppliers so that in 2028 he will be bargaining against the Big Five or Six.

What the National Labor Relations Board seeks to give unions, the Courts taketh away. Since the beginning of the Biden era, the NLRB has issued ruling after ruling challenging employers’ policies as anti-union. Many policies that have been acceptable for years are now being cast as anti-union and in turn, an unfair labor practice.

Last Wednesday Ford Motor Company reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers. Though it remains to be seen what else was agreed to, the tentative deal increases wages 25% over the life of the contract. Top wage jobs will see cumulative wages rise 30% to over $40/hr. Starting wages will increase 68% to over $28/hr.  Stellantis agreed to a similar deal last Saturday that mirrors the Ford deal.

As the UAW strike enters its 5^th week, Shawn Fain, UAW President, continues to call on more plants to strike and continues to increase pressure on the Detroit Three. Last week, Fain called on Ford’s Kentucky plant’s 8700 union workers to walk off the job having received Ford’s latest proposal at a meeting that Fain took just ten minutes to leave saying, “You just lost Kentucky Truck Plant.”

In a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is claiming a program that solicits employee feedback created a union because the company discussed the issues with the employees (T-Mobile v. NLRB, Nos. 22-1310 and 23-1002). 

Businesses that may face their own fallout from the UAW strike against the Detroit Three should be cognizant of some resources and obligations. During ASE’s bi-weekly Conversations with Mike & Tony webinar, we asked the participants if they foresaw a direct impact from the strike in the next 30 days. 26% said they did, and the biggest percentage of those indicated the impact would be employee layoffs.

Earlier this year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued proposed rules prohibiting the use of non-compete agreements with most employees. Non-compete agreements restrict an employee from leaving an employer and taking another job – usually but not always – in the same business, for a specific period of time and within a limited geographic area. Historically the purpose of non-compete agreements was to protect confidential information about a business from being poached by a...

Last week the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its long-anticipated decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC and also issued a new rule changing union election procedures.

With less than a month to go before the Big Three and the UAW labor contracts expire (September 14), the UAW is ratcheting up its negotiation rhetoric and posturing.

Not unexpectedly, last week the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) changed its work rule test. The NLRB’s work rule test assesses whether particular employer policies (rules) illegally restrict workers’ rights. The Biden labor Board, now comprised of his appointees, and its General Counsel stated that since this Administration came into office, it would be reviewing many Trump-era labor rules and this rule in particular.

Readers may recall a previous article in the EPTW earlier this year talking about the incredible amount of money (billions) the government has provided to union pension funds in the way of special financial assistance provided through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) as provided by the American Rescue Plan Act passed under the current administration in 2021.

With the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) currently stretching union rights in every direction, earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court put up a block against unlawful strike behavior. In an 8-1 decision the high Court said an employer may sue a union if they allowed their striking members to intentionally damage company property during a strike. This would seem to be a no-brainer but not in the world of labor.

Every three years Detroit’s auto industry faces the “Auto Talks.” The Big Three and the United Auto Workers (UAW) will re-negotiate their contracts that are set to expire this September 14^th.  This event not only impacts General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis NV but also impacts the suppliers and vendors that support auto production.

Most employer handbooks have a policy addressing solicitations at work. One major purpose of a no solicitation policy is to prevent union organizing on an employer’s premises. Union organizers want easy access to employees and where better to reach them?

Michigan’s Legislature moved quickly to repeal Michigan’s 10-year-old Right to Work law. Right to Work allows private sector union members to opt out of union dues payment should they disagree with the services rendered, the political position their union takes, or any other reason the union member may have for deciding the union has not earned their support. Right to Work gives thousands of Michigan union workers leverage to hold their unions accountable.