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Tip of the week: Understand union unfair labor practices

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, March 25, 2010

As with any activities governed by law, labor practices must adhere to the legal mandates stated for both labor unions and management. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has outlined a number of areas that may be construed as unfair labor practices (ULPs). One method that can be used to guide and help prevent ULPs is use of the acronym, “TIPS,” which stands for Threaten, Interrogate, Promise, or Spy. These activities are expressly forbidden under the NLRB.

Union unfair labor practices prohibit unions from:

• Restraining or coercing employers – Unions cannot interfere with the activity of the employer or coerce and threaten the employer as part of engaging in their daily work environments. They also cannot refuse to bargain with employer representatives chosen to negotiate with union members.
• Requiring employers to discriminate – Unions cannot require employers to hire only union employees or discriminate and terminate those who have filed claims against the union, or have attempted to decertify the union.
• Refusing to bargain in good faith.
• Engaging in unlawful strikes or boycotts – The union cannot engage in hot cargo agreements or secondary boycotts whereby they boycott other businesses that may be associated with their current business entity.
• Charging excessive membership fees.
• Engaging in featherbedding – Unions cannot insist on having employers pay for services that are not rendered or that fail to exist. In other words, a union cannot coerce an employer to continue to pay a person who is a member of the union for a position that no longer exists.

This is an excerpt from HCPro’s book, The Long-Term Care Administrator’s Field Guide, by Brian Garavaglia, PhD.

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