With Unionization Efforts on the Rise, NLRB Tightens Scrutiny on Employer Statements During Union Elections
Topics: Union-Management Relations
The landscape of labor relations is rapidly shifting, particularly for California employers, as unionization efforts gain momentum across industries. Under President Biden and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, the agency has pursued a significant pro-union stance, ramping up scrutiny on employer conduct during union election campaigns. While that is likely to change with the new administration, the NLRB continues to issue many pro-union decisions that are expressly designed to make the path to union organizing easier for unions.
In a pivotal decision issued earlier this month, the NLRB overruled a 40-year-old precedent that had previously allowed employers to inform workers about certain potential consequences of unionization, including the likely changes to their relationship with management. The case, Siren Retail Corp. d/b/a Starbucks, marks a clear shift in how the current Board believes employer statements during union campaigns should be scrutinized. However, following Trump’s election to his second presidential term, CDF anticipates this ruling may be successfully challenged, but it remains the law until a new decision overturning it is issued.
The Siren Decision: A Sea Change in Employer Communication
Historically, employers could tell employees that unionizing might limit their direct access to management or change how management addresses individual employee concerns. This was permissible under the 1985 Tri-Cast decision. However, this month, in Siren, the NLRB determined that the Tri-Cast ruling “erred in deeming categorically lawful nearly any employer statement to employees touching on the impact that unionization would have on the relationship between individual employees and their employer.”
While the NLRB still acknowledges that employers can make certain factual statements about unionization, such as acknowledging that union representation will change the dynamics of the employer-employee relationship, it now requires that such statements be made with more caution. Specifically, the Board’s majority held that any employer statements about unionization must be "carefully phrased" and based on objective facts, conveying the employer’s belief about the probable consequences of unionization. If such statements are not grounded in objective fact, or predict negative consequences that would result from the employer’s own actions, it is “no longer a reasonable prediction based on available facts but a threat of retaliation based on misrepresentation and coercion” and will be found to be a violation of the National Labor Relations Act by the Board.
A Changing Political Landscape
While the NLRB, under President Biden's administration, has been about as pro-union as any Board in recent memory, this dynamic will almost certainly change dramatically under the Trump Administration. The courts have upheld the President’s authority to remove the NLRB’s General Counsel on inauguration day when Biden did this almost four years ago. Trump will likely take similar measures and appoint a new NLRB General Counsel shortly after being sworn into office. Just as Biden’s Board came with sweeping legal changes, CDF anticipates a significant paradigm shift under Trump’s term, returning to more employer-friendly standards and precedent.
For more information on the Siren decision and other important recent NLRB decisions, as well as a discussion on the shifting tides of the NLRB, we encourage you to register for our November 20 complimentary webinar, where these items will be discussed at some length, as we help California employers prepare for 2025.
