Advocates for Labor and Progressive Institutions
A growing chorus of federal district courts have held that unions cannot be held liable for damages for collecting fair-share fees from public employees in accordance with existing state statutes prior to the Supreme Court’s holding that such fee requirements were unconstitutional.
Congratulations to the members of the U.S. Women’s National Team Players’ Association on their unprecedented fourth World Championship. Go USA!
In a significant opinion at the intersection of labor law and the interpretation of collective-bargaining agreements, the United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling granting summary judgment to Paramount Pictures Corporation on a claim filed by the American Federation of Musicians (“AFM”). American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 903 F.3d 968 (9th Cir. 2018).
As reported in major media outlets, such as Buzzfeed, Rolling Stone, and The Huffington Post, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia obtained mass criminal felony indictments against demonstrators who gathered to protest the January 20, 2017 inauguration of Donald J. Trump.
The Regional Director for Region 10 of the National Labor Relations Board rejected Boeing’s challenge to the appropriateness of a unit for a representation election involving Flight Readiness Technicians and Flight Readiness Technician Inspectors at Boeing’s South Carolina facility.
In the first Court of Appeals decision interpreting certain recent amendments to the federal Pension Protection Act, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling that candy maker Just Born II, Inc. (“Just Born”), is required to make pension contributions on behalf of newly hired employees at its Philadelphia manufacturing facility and that its defenses were properly dismissed.
Local Union No. 6 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union of America won summary judgment against Just Born, Inc., a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania candy manufacturer that sued the Union claiming that a September 2016 strike violated the collective-bargaining agreement, which Just Born claimed had been orally extended.
In a matter of first impression, the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee rejected an employer’s challenge to the interest rate applied by a multiemployer pension plan to overdue contributions and withdrawal liability payments.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sustained the new silica standard promulgated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) against a multipronged challenge by industry employers impacted by the standard.