The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 it supervises elections for labor union representation and can investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity. The NLRB is governed by a five-person board and a general counsel,all of whom are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate. Board members are appointed to five-year terms and the general counsel is appointed to a four-year term. The general counsel acts as a prosecutor and the board acts as an appellate quasi-judicial body from decisions of administrative law judges.
The Public Employees Fair Employment Act,more commonly known as the Taylor Law,is Article 14 of the state Civil Service Law,which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York.
Card check,also called majority sign-up,is a method for employees to organize into a labor union in which a majority of employees in a bargaining unit sign authorization forms,or "cards",stating they wish to be represented by the union. Since the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) became law in 1935,card check has been an alternative to the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) election process. Card check and election are both overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. The difference is that with card sign-up,employees sign authorization cards stating they want a union,the cards are submitted to the NLRB and if more than 50% of the employees submitted cards,the NLRB requires the employer to recognize the union. The NLRA election process is an additional step with the NLRB conducting a secret ballot election after authorization cards are submitted. In both cases the employer never sees the authorization cards or any information that would disclose how individual employees voted.
The Employee Free Choice Act is the name for several legislative bills on US labor law which have been proposed and sometimes introduced into one or both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
A whipsaw strike is a strike by a trade union against only one or a few employers in an industry or a multi-employer association at a time. The strike is often of a short duration,and usually recurs during the labor dispute or contract negotiations—hence the name "whipsaw".
NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. 87 (1957),is an 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a temporary lockout by a multi-employer bargaining group threatened by a whipsaw strike was lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),as amended by the Taft-Hartley Act.
NLRB v. Mackay Radio &Telegraph Co.,304 U.S. 333 (1938),is a United States labor law case of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that workers who strike remain employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Court granted the relief sought by the National Labor Relations Board,which sought to have the workers reinstated by the employer. However,the decision is much better known today for its obiter dicta in which the Court said that an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when the strike ends.
Joseph Warren Madden was an American lawyer,judge,civil servant,and educator. He served as a judge of the United States Court of Claims and was the first Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1947.
Harold Craig Becker,known professionally as Craig Becker,is an American labor attorney,a former member of the National Labor Relations Board,and currently the General Counsel of the AFL–CIO.
Wilma B. Liebman is an American lawyer and civil servant who is best known for serving as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). She was designated chair of the board by President Barack Obama on January 20,2009,becoming only the second woman to lead the NLRB.
Harry Alvin Millis was an American civil servant,economist,and educator and who was prominent in the first four decades of the 20th century. He was a prominent educator,and his writings on labor relations were described at his death by several prominent economists as "landmarks". Millis is best known for serving on the "first" National Labor Relations Board,an executive-branch agency which had no statutory authority. He was also the second chairman of the "second" National Labor Relations Board,where he initiated a number of procedural improvements and helped stabilize the Board's enforcement of American labor law.
Lafe E. Solomon was named the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on June 21,2010,by President Barack Obama. His nomination to serve as General Counsel was sent to the U.S. Senate on January 5,2011. On August 1,2013,President Obama withdrew his nomination,instead choosing to nominate Richard Griffin,Jr. for the position. The action came about as a result of a compromise between Senate Republicans and the White House concerning nominations to the NLRB.
John Cushman Truesdale Jr. was an American lawyer and civil servant who served two terms as executive secretary of the National Labor Relations Board,four terms as a board member,and one term as board chair.
Guy Otto Farmer was an American lawyer and civil servant. He was Chairman of the United States National Labor Relations Board from July 1953 to August 1955. After leaving government service,he represented the Bituminous Coal Operators Association,the collective bargaining arm of the bituminous coal mining industry in the United States.
National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning,573 U.S. 513 (2014),was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously ruled that the President of the United States cannot use his authority under the Recess Appointment Clause of the United States Constitution to appoint public officials unless the United States Senate is in recess and not able to transact Senate business. The Court held that the clause allows the president to make appointments during both intra-session and inter-session recesses but only if the recess is of sufficient length,and if the Senate is actually unavailable for deliberation,thereby limiting future recess appointments. The Court also ruled that any office vacancy can be filled during the recess,regardless of when it arose. The case arose out of President Barack Obama's appointments of Sharon Block,Richard Griffin,and Terence Flynn to the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
William Emanuel is an American lawyer and government official who formerly served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to assuming that role,he was a shareholder at the law firm Littler Mendelson.
Philip Andrew Miscimarra is a partner in the labor and employment practice of Morgan,Lewis &Bockius LLP,and he is a former American government official who served as the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He first joined the NLRB as a board member appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013,and he was named chairman by President Donald J. Trump in 2017. Prior to his appointment to the NLRB,he worked as a Morgan Lewis partner in Chicago. After his service on the NLRB ended,Miscimarra joined Morgan Lewis in Washington,D.C.,and Chicago. Miscimarra is also a senior fellow in the Wharton Center for human resources at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
John F. Ring is a corporate lawyer and former government official. Ring was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 2018 to 2022,serving as chair from 2018 to 2021. He was formerly co-chair of the labor and employment law practice at Morgan,Lewis &Bockius,a pro-management law firm,where his practice included representing employers in collective bargaining,labor contracts,multi-employer benefit funds,and corporate restructurings.
Sharon Block is an American attorney,government official,labor policy advisor and law professor who served during the Biden Administration as the Associate Administrator delegated the duties of the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from January 20,2021 to February 1,2022. During the Obama Administration,Block served on the National Labor Relations Board and in the United States Department of Labor and the White House. She currently serves as a Professor of Practice and the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
Lauren McFerran is an American lawyer and government official who is a member and chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. She is one of three Democrats currently serving on the board. Prior to serving on the board,she worked as a law clerk,in private practice,and as a labor lawyer for the Senate Committee on Health,Education,Labor,and Pensions.
