In Another Blow to NLRB, Court Says Bosses Don't Have To Notify Workers of Rights

Moshe Marvit Working In These Times / In These Times
Appeals Court rules NLRB cannot require employers to post notices informing employees of their labor rights. The decision, which comes less than three weeks after lack of regulatory enforcement led to a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 and left about 200 injured, opens the door for businesses to challenge requirements that workers be informed of their health, safety and employment rights.

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Solidarity NOT Forever: How the Supreme Court Kicked Retirees Into the Gutter

Prof. Ellen Dannin and Ann Hodges, Truthout News Analysis Truthout
The Supreme Court's decision in Allied Chemical Workers v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass to give employers complete control of retiree benefits undercuts the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act and leaves vulnerable, retired employees powerless to protect themselves from costly changes in benefits.

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With Big Changes, Can Labor Grow Again?

Melissa Maynard Stateline
Union leaders are exploring new forms of organization. One such form is the “minority” or “pre-majority” union. Under that framework, workers could sign up members and bargain on behalf of a smaller group until they reached the 50 percent threshold and went through the traditional certification process. This article explores a number of non-traditional avenues for unions.

Judicial Amendments and the Attack on Worker Rights

Ellen Dannin and Ann Hodges, Truthout Op-Ed Truthout
NLRB passed by Congress and later amended by Congress - weakened by the courts - judges who are not elected. The answer is that the strong protections in the law Congress passed have been weakened by "judicial amendments" - that is, by court decisions that weaken or even eliminate worker rights and protections created by Congress.

Media Bits & Bytes - As The World Turns edition

Portside
AP drops the "i-word"; FCC’s future; When Google lost its cool; Are alt-weeklies toast?; A ‘disruptive’ cable channel; ProPublica meets Reddit; Time’s big lie; Kochs shop for dailies; Exxon > freedom of speech; NLRB Rules In Favor of CWA Against Cablevision

Tidbits - April 4, 2013 - 45 Years Ago Today Martin Luther King Murdered in Memphis

Portside
Fast Food Workers Stand Up on 45th Anniversary of Assassination of MLK; Readers Comments on: 1963 March on Washington; BRICS; NCAA; Labor Law Loses Its Watchdog; Media Bits and Bytes; Reader Apprciation. Rally for Immigration Reform - Jersey City - Apr 6; The Safety Net, Sequestration and Austerity Politics - NYC - Apr 8; US Prison Industrial Complex: A Labor Issue? - NYC - Apr 18; Dred Scott Heritage Foundation. In Memoriam: Leo Robinson; Stephen Coats; Harry Kelber

Labor Law Loses Its Watchdog

Bruce Vail In These Times
Employers are waking up to the fact that they are no longer required to follow the NLRB’s orders. Because of the Canning decision, Rhinehart explains, any employer can now go to a federal appeals court and be granted an indefinite delay in enforcement of any NLRB action taken in the last 14 months.

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Labor Board and Union Reach a Deal for a 60 Day Moratorium on Walmart Pickets

Josh Eidelson The Nation
As The Nation has reported, in a charge filed one week before November’s Black Friday strike, Walmart had accused the United Food & Commercial Workers union of organizing illegal pickets for the purpose of winning union recognition (the protests were spearheaded by the UFCW-backed group OUR Walmart).
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