Table 1
Doing the Chamber's bidding: Action on the Chamber of Commerce's top 10 list completed by the Trump board
| Chamber wish | NLRB action |
|---|---|
| Overturn Specialty Healthcare to give employers more say in bargaining unit determinations. | PCC Structurals, Inc., 365 NLRB No. 160 (2017). |
| Weaken rules that were adopted in 2015 to streamline the representation election process. | The Trump board issued final rules weakening the representation election procedures. See Representation-Case Procedures, 84 Fed. Reg. 69524–69599 (December 18, 2019). |
| Overturn Browning-Ferris decision on joint employer. | The Trump board attempted to overturn Browning-Ferris in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, 365 NLRB No. 156 (December 14, 2017), but had to withdraw the decision because of member Emanuel’s conflict of interest. The Trump board then proposed and finalized a new rule to overturn Browning-Ferris. See Joint Employer Status Under the National Labor Relations Act, 85 Fed. Reg. 11184–11236 (February 26, 2020). |
| Allow employers to force employees into arbitration and disallow class or collective claims. | The Supreme Court agreed with the Chamber of Commerce and the Trump board in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U.S. ___ (2018). |
| Change rules on “management rights” clauses to give employers more power to make unilateral changes and undermine the collective bargaining process. | MV Transportation, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 66 (2019); Boeing, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017); Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365 NLRB No. 161 (2017). |
| Allow employers to undermine the bargaining process by unilaterally imposing discretionary discipline without bargaining with the union. | Care One, 369 NLRB No. 109 (2020). |
| Allow employers to deny employees use of the employer email system for communication with co-workers about workplace issues. | Caesars Entertainment Corp., 368 NLRB No. 143 (2019). |
| Allow employers to fire or discipline workers for profane or offensive language, even if it interferes with protected NLRA activity. | General Motors LLC, 369 NLRB No. 127 (July 21, 2020). |
| Allow employers to keep their investigations confidential and gag employees from talking with one another about pending employer investigations. | Unique Thrift Store, 368 NLRB No. 144 (December 16, 2019). |
| Allow employers to keep employees and their supporters off the employer’s property to discuss and publicize their views on workplace issues. | Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 368 NLRB No. 46 (August 23, 2019); Kroger Limited Partnership, 368 NLRB No. 64 (September 6, 2019); UPMC, 368 NLRB No. 2 (June 14, 2019). |
Source: EPI analysis of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Restoring Common Sense to Labor Law: Ten Policies to Fix at the National Labor Relations Board, February 28, 2017.
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