RETAIL
OPERATIONS
by StePheNBenneTT
The NLRB is tangled in a legal wrangle; Congress continues divided; Michigan
is now a right-to-work state. What's an employer to do?
THe laBOR fROnT
Four members of the
the National Labor
Relations Board (left
to right): Richard F.
Griffin, Jr.; Chairman
Mark Gaston Pearce;
Brian Hayes; Sharon
Black.
Photo provided by NLRB
26
T
he outLooK For Labor reLations dur-
President Barack Obama's second
term seems likely to feature both turmoil and the status quo, according to
labor law experts who provide counsel
to employers.
The November elections preserved party majorities in both houses of Congress, and that bodes
"more gridlock on Capitol Hill," said Robert Nagle,
a lawyer who specializes in labor law and advises
employers on how to comply with the National
Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the rulings of the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
As was the case in the first term of the Obama
administration, Republicans hold a majority in
the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democrats
hold a majority in the U.S. Senate.
JaNuary/February 2013
ing
"Just based on that alone, Congress is not
going to pass any significant legislation modifying the National Labor Relations Act," said
Nagle, who is with Saul Ewing LLC, a law firm in
Philadelphia, Pa.
"Where we do see some legislative activity
is at the state level," Nagle said, noting that last
December the Michigan Legislature passed rightto-work legislation.
Unions object to right-to-work, labor law
experts point out, arguing that it is unfair because
it requires them to represent employees that opt
out of paying union dues. In effect, it bestows the
benefits of a union-negotiated labor agreement on
those employees for free, unions contend. That
Michigan, a cradle of union power, has become a
right-to-work state is "remarkable," Nagle said.
NPN Magazine n www.npnweb.com
