News & Commentary March 3, 2023

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/march-3-2023/

By Greg Volynsky

Greg Volynsky is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News & Commentary, NLRB General Counsel aims to limit employers’ ability to hire temporary replacements during some lockouts, forty-four corporate Starbucks employees sign open letter urging neutrality towards unionization efforts, and Senator Sanders plans vote to subpoena Starbucks CEO.

NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo aims to curtail employers’ ability to hire temporary replacements during offensive lockouts, Bloomberg reports. In 1965, the Supreme Court in NLRB v. Brown recognized employers’ right to use temporary replacement workers following a strike against one member of a multiemployer association. In Harter Equipment (1986), the NLRB extended this right to lockouts without a strike or threatened strike (so-called offensive lockouts). The Harter Board made two key inferences: first, that the use of temporary employees during a lockout is reasonably related to achieving bargaining objectives, and therefore is a legitimate economic weapon. Second, that temporary replacements have a “comparatively slight” effect on employee rights. The current NLRB appears poised, when opportunity arises, to find otherwise.

FULL story at link above.