New Path to Ease Unionization Must Overcome Judicial Scrutiny

The National Labor Relations Board’s new framework for easing unionization remains vulnerable to legal challenges despite features that should avoid some pitfalls in federal court.

In Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, the board put the onus on employers to seek elections when unions claim majority support and to refrain from illegal interference in those contests, under the threat of orders to recognize and bargain with unions without a formal vote.

The Cemex framework’s zero tolerance for coercion prior to an election has the potential to significantly reduce unlawful employer conduct, said Brian Petruska, general counsel at the LIUNA Mid-Atlantic Regional ...