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Labor Relations / Unions

Union-Free and eager to stay that way

07/07/2008
Q. Our company has operated union-free for many years. How can we best protect ourselves against future union-organizing activities? …

Using GPS tracking devices without violating employee privacy

07/02/2008
Global Positioning System devices make it easy for employers to keep track of the location of company vehicles. But for all the pluses of GPS, there are minuses. Because GPS devices also can pinpoint where employees who use company vehicles are and where they have been, the technology has raised new worker privacy concerns that HR professionals need to know about …

In hospitals, have evidence union messages upset patients

07/01/2008
Generally, employees have the right to wear union insignia in the workplace. But in some limited circumstances in health care settings, employers can restrict that right if the restriction is “necessary to avoid disruption of health care operations or disturbance of patients” …

Inter-Con security guards strike at Kaiser Permanente facilities

07/01/2008

Building security officers employed by Inter-Con Security Systems and seeking representation by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staged a series of one-day strikes in May at 23 California Kaiser Permanente medical facilities …

Civil rights groups seek union representation for gov’t workers

07/01/2008
The NAACP and other civil rights groups urged lawmakers to give government employees collective bargaining rights during the organization’s “People of Color Justice and Unity Legislative Day” on May 28 in Raleigh …

Political shift could heighten your union risk

07/01/2008
“If you’ve not dealt with unions before, I cannot overemphasize how quickly the world could change this fall,” said Mike Fox, a Texas-based attorney with Ogletree Deakins. “This would be the first time in my life we’d really have a president aligned with organized labor.”

Red Light, Green Light: How HR Must Prepare for Political Change

07/01/2008
Election Day could bring enormous changes to the world of labor and employment law. Don’t wait until Nov. 4 to react. Here are the three potential scenarios for change, the eight key legislative issues in the hopper and the five things you can do right now.

Beware applicants who are really union organizers

07/01/2008
If your company isn’t a union employer, that doesn’t mean you can ignore the National Labor Relations Act. Chances are, someone wants to make your company a union workplace and will try to trick you into becoming one. In fact, one of your job applicants may be that wolf in sheep’s clothing. He or she will lie to get a job—and then call in the union organizers …

State workers get union ballots

07/01/2008
A drive by the labor coalition Colorado WINS to represent 32,000 state government employees through “partnership agreements” has seen a successful, if not overwhelming, first round. Roughly 30% of 22,500 state workers who received ballots in May returned them, with a majority voting to join in the agreements …

More woes at American Axle

06/12/2008
Less than half of the hourly employees who returned to work following an 87-day strike at American Axle & Manufacturing will have jobs in a year, the company announced. The company also will cut its hourly labor rate, including wages and benefits, by half …