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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   28326 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 23, 2024

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What does the NLRB do? I thought unions were like some kind of trade association where all workers join and they collectively bargain with employers if they want access to their skilled labor pool.

That sounds fine, but then I learned that the NLRB exists and it actually makes it illegal for employers to refuse to negotiate with the trade association? And that their labor pool can actually be very unskilled? I'm reminded, recently, that Starbucks was ordered to re-open stores that they shut down because they were union shops?

If a business isn't allowed to shut down without NLRB approval and it must only employ some designated union, I'm going to say they're bad and should have this power revoked.

The NLRB has a basic guide you might find informative.

What does the NLRB do?

The NLRB has two primary functions. First is to hear and adjudicate complaints about unfair labor practices by unions and employers. Second is to oversee union elections as a kind of third party arbitrator.

I thought unions were like some kind of trade association where all workers join and they collectively bargain with employers if they want access to their skilled labor pool.

In the United States the relevant verbiage is a "collective bargaining unit." What makes up a collective bargaining unit is at the NLRB's discretion, subject to some statutory constraints. Generally the idea is that it involves a group of individuals with the same or similar economic interest who are sensible to group together for the purpose of collective bargaining. In the United States you probably often hear about the "UAW" or "Teamsters." These groups are not collective bargaining units as such but are made up of many groups (often called local unions) who are. From the perspective of US labor law the local unions are the "real" unions, with rights and obligations with respect to employers and others.

That sounds fine, but then I learned that the NLRB exists and it actually makes it illegal for employers to refuse to negotiate with the trade association?

It is not really the NLRB as such but the National Labor Relations Act that imposes obligations on employers to negotiate in good faith with recognized unions of their employees.

And that their labor pool can actually be very unskilled?

Correct, there is no particular requirement that employees be "skilled" (whatever that means) for them to constitute a collective bargaining unit under US law.

I'm reminded, recently, that Starbucks was ordered to re-open stores that they shut down because they were union shops?

Yes. The NLRB found that Starbucks closed those stores because the employees at those stores had voted to unionize, which is an unfair labor practice. One of the examples they give in the basic guide is an employer threatening to shut down a plant as a way of discouraging plant workers from organizing.

If a business isn't allowed to shut down without NLRB approval and it must only employ some designated union, I'm going to say they're bad and should have this power revoked.

This is kind of like anti-discrimination law. It's not that businesses can't shit down locations without NLRB approval, it's that they cannot shut down a location because its employees decided to unionize. I agree ordering the business to re-open a location is not great, but I'm open to hearing what other remedy would be appropriate.

What does the NLRB do?

I'm not a huge fan, but they do have some function in ensuring that the right of workers to chose to unionize or to chose not to unionize is respected. At the very least, overseeing that voting is a role for a neutral third party.

If a business isn't allowed to shut down without NLRB approval and it must only employ some designated union, I'm going to say they're bad and should have this power revoked.

A business is allowed to shut down for any business reason. It cannot shut down because the workers there voted to unionize, that would be unlawful retaliation.

That's the kind of factual question that is litigated all the time and can be resolved by the normal judicial process. For example, one could look to whether other stores with similar performance shut down during that period, or what the usual process would be for underperforming stores.

Someone has to be decide on it, the NLRB should probably let the federal courts do more of that though.

A business is allowed to shut down for any business reason. It cannot shut down because the workers there voted to unionize, that would be unlawful retaliation.

Unless they're allowed to hire non-union workers, I consider it a valid business reason to withdraw from the market.

Being forced by law to negotiate with some group to access labor is unacceptable.

I'm aware on surface reading that this is retaliatory but fuck that.

This is essentially leading to a government enforced cartel that decides all baristas now must be paid X.

I consider it a valid business reason to withdraw from the market.

This is still one step removed from the 'real' business reason though. The NLRB alleged that Starbucks' closure were part of a strategy of intimidation, not simply a response to business conditions downstream of unionisation. Which is to say, they didn't close the stores because unionization made labor too expensive and reduced profitability, rather they closed viable locations as mere retaliation/pour encourager les autres.

Sure, though they only don't want to have a union in their eco-system because it will make labor too expensive and reduce profitability. The fact that it's a step removed doesn't make it less of a valid business reason.

The choice of whether to have a union is with workers. If Starbucks wants to not have one, it needs to convince workers that they will benefit more not having one.

I understand and respect that this is your opinion.

For the better part of the century, the core tenant of US labor law is that If a majority of employees vote to empower a union to negotiate on their behalf, The business is indeed required by law to negotiate with that union.

I thought unions were like some kind of trade association where all workers join and they collectively bargain with employers if they want access to their skilled labor pool.

That's what they should be. In reality the NLRB and labor law make them more like a local Mafia. Pay us for protection or we'll destroy your business. This is but one example of why libertarians want less regulation: any government power is always corrupted to enrich whoever can get their hands on it.

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