Boeing/NLRB Unfair Labor Practice Case Indicative of Overall Change in NLRB

All eyes are on Seattle as the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) unfair labor practice case against Boeing is underway. At issue is whether Boeing has illegally retaliated against union workers by employing a non-union assembly line in its Charleston, SC plant.

Wendy K. Voss, a partner with the law firm of Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP in Wilmington, Delaware, who represents employers before the NLRB, EEOC, state agencies and in the state and federal courts, finds this case to be indicative of an overall change in the NLRB.

“What we are seeing is significant changes in law and procedure and pursuit of a union-friendly agenda,” Voss said.

The changes the Obama-appointed NLRB already is considering include:

• Adopting various means to assist unions in election campaigns.
• Abolishing a decades-long precedent to permit micro-bargaining units.
• Reworking the way a supervisory employee is defined.
• Shortening the time between the filing of a certification petition and union election.
• Offering more favorable remedies for unions in the event of employer misconduct.

If the NLRB succeeds in the Boeing case, a precedent could be set that would influence companies’ abilities to hire who they want and determine where they run manufacturing lines for fear the NLRB would step in and render their plants useless.

“Such an outcome could change the entire playing field for business decisions in a unionized workplace,” Voss added.

Wendy Voss is available for interviews on this issue. [06/16/2011]