Union’s ‘Snitch’ Label for Worker Was Legal, NLRB Attorneys Say

A United Steelworkers affiliate didn’t violate federal labor law when it called a worker a “snitch” for reporting a co-worker’s misconduct and told other workers they could do the same, the National Labor Relations Board’s legal unit said.

The union representing workers at a St. Louis-based copper tube maker was in the clear because the worker branded as a snitch didn’t request the USW affiliate’s assistance, the NLRB’s advice division said in a memo made public Thursday. The union neither threatened nor stopped the worker from utilizing the nondiscrimination clause in the collective bargaining agreement, the division said.

In addition, ...