Luke Hinrichs is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentaries, NLRB files complaint against Wells Fargo for preventing fair union election, Trump fires Federal Labor Relations Authority Chairwoman Susan Tsui Grundmann despite independent agency’s for-cause removal protection, and IBEW utility workers for National Grid are set to strike.
The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Wells Fargo & Co. accusing the bank of preventing a fair union election at a branch in Atwater, California by threatening and retaliating against employees. Although a majority of the branch employees signed union cards in December 2023 in support of unionizing with Communications Workers of America, the unionization vote failed in an election held in 2024. The NLRB alleges that Wells Fargo management, leading up to the election, told staff that they knew an employee was talking to coworkers about unionizing, that the company will be watching them via camera surveillance, and if the staff were involved with union efforts, the bank would stop being lenient and require they work longer shifts. Citing the Biden-Era Cemex decision, the NLRB is seeking to require Wells Fargo to recognize and negotiate with the union despite the election outcome given the alleged unionization support among the workers and the company’s unlawful coercion.
President Trump fired Biden-appointed and Senate-confirmed Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Chairwoman Susan Tsui Grundmann. FLRA members are tasked with overseeing labor relations between the federal agencies and its employees. The independent agency’s members can only be removed by the president “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” and must receive a hearing first.” Chair Grundmann’s term was not set to expire until July 2025, and her discharge without cause marks the first time a president has fired an FLRA board member since the agency’s founding in 1974.
With their contracts expiring at the end of day Thursday, IBEW utility workers for National Grid have voted 409-to-6 to authorize a strike at gas power plants in the New York area if the multinational company does not negotiate a new contract by midnight on Friday, February 14. 99 percent of IBEW 1049 members in attendance at the union meeting voted in favor of strike authorization. The union represents roughly 1,200 National Grid natural gas workers.
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August 31
California lawmakers and rideshare companies reach an agreement on collective bargaining legislation for drivers; six unions representing workers at American Airlines call for increased accountability from management; Massachusetts Teamsters continue the longest sanitation strike in decades.
August 29
Trump fires regulator in charge of reviewing railroad mergers; fired Fed Governor sues Trump asserting unlawful termination; and Trump attacks more federal sector unions.
August 28
contested election for UAW at Kentucky battery plant; NLRB down to one member; public approval of unions remains high.
August 27
The U.S. Department of Justice welcomes new hires and forces reassignments in the Civil Rights Division; the Ninth Circuit hears oral arguments in Brown v. Alaska Airlines Inc.; and Amazon violates federal labor law at its air cargo facility in Kentucky.
August 26
Park employees at Yosemite vote to unionize; Philadelphia teachers reach tentative three-year agreement; a new report finds California’s union coverage remains steady even as national union density declines.
August 25
Consequences of SpaceX decision, AI may undermine white-collar overtime exemptions, Sixth Circuit heightens standard for client harassment.