Discussion Questions on Union and Comapnies

?What is the union and company argument?

The company argument prohibits the misuse of electronic resources to solicit or impose outside organizations, political or religious issues for the sole purpose of inflicting an outcome based on persuasion. This is a direct violation of company policy. All electronic use within the organization are intended for sole administrative purposes.
The Union argument is that the company acted poorly in direct violation of the provisions of the NLRA by intimidating the employee with written ramifications ultimately resulting in termination if the employee continues to petition other employees to support Union causes. The Union believes that the employee was acting well within his/her rights as a union member to inform, recruit and convert nonunion members to enter into a unionized agreement of employment protection. Employers cannot prevent employees from exercising their rights to engage in unionized activities or discriminate against union members.

?Which provision of the NLRA would the union say was violated?
The National Labor Relations Act forbids employers from retaliating against certain types of employee speech or intimidating those who engage in it. (Scott, 2006).
"The NLRA protects certain activities by non-supervisory private sector employees. Specifically, section 7 of the NLRA protects "the right . . . to form, join, or assist labor organizations . . . and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection." Employers may not "interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of" their section 7 rights. These provisions likely extend to employee blogs under certain circumstances." (Scott, 2006). Under the NLRA law, the employee was not prohibited as specified in section 9 of the NLRA guidelines. Employees trying to obtain support from individuals inside the organization are protected under the NLRA laws.
"Section 104 of the LMRDA (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959) establishes the right to receive or examine collective bargaining agreements and applies not only to union members but also to all nonunion employees whose rights are directly affected by a collective bargaining agreement." (United States Department of Labor, 2010).

?How would these actions fit that provision
The company's retaliatory practices enabled the employee to become protected under the provisions of Section 7, Section 9 and the LMRDA. As a result of the company issuing a written warning to the employee for sending a mass email to coworkers, the company engaged in coercion in an effort to deter the employee from exercising their rights under the provision of section 7. The company also interfered with the employees rights under section 9 stipulation of the collective bargaining agreement.

"Specific provisions in the NLRA protect an employee's right to join or not join a union and provide mechanisms to resolve questions concerning union representation. See Boire v. Greyhound Corp., 376 U.S. 473, 476-79, 84 S. Ct. 894, 11 L. Ed. 2d 849 (1964). Section 7 of the NLRA provides the core rights of employees "to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities" as well as the right "to refrain from any or all such activities[.]" 29 U.S.C. § 157. Section 8 defines and prohibits union or employer "unfair labor practices," which would include employer actions that infringe on an employee's Section 7 rights. 29 U.S.C. § 158. Section 10 authorizes the Board to adjudicate claims of unfair labor practices. See 29 U.S.C. § 160." (Hewitt and Holmquist, 2009).

?What evidence would the union and company need to have?
Written documentation, proof that the situation took place, dates, witnesses. They must be able to prove that the employees rights were violated, discrimination and/or unfair practices occurred. The union must possess the written warning provided by the employee, their argument and/or position, a legal brief, witnesses specifically those whom have had a similar problem with the organization. The union must provide resources of other cases and provisions regarding the same situation in order to cross reference facts to the judge. The more substantial evidence provided from each party the more likely the judge will rule in their favor.