The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided that once workers vote for a union, they and their employers must abide by their contract, even if the workers have changed their minds.
The YWCA in Springfield, Massachusetts was told by the NLRB that it had to honor a labor contract that was ratified nearly a year ago, pay back dues to all workers, and honor negotiated settlements. The NLRB’s 29-page decision rejected the non-profit agency’s contention that the workers had changed their minds about the union after it was certified.
David Goldman, of the NLRB, wrote that “an employer may not rely on a union’s subsequent loss of support to justify withdrawal of recognition….”
This is an example of why it is essential for management to have a winning strategy for dealing with union organizing efforts. And with the advent of new militant unions that have broken away from the AFL-CIO, it is now more important than ever for Corporate America to have effective strategies in place and not wait to appeal to the NLRB.
