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:: Thursday, May 25, 2006 ::

Union "Funeral Procession" Violates Secondary Boycott Law - Are Rats and Banners Next? - Littler Mendelson, Mondaq News Alerts
The ALJs who consider bannering to be a form of free speech have emphasized that the individuals holding the banners remain stationary without patrolling in front of the neutral employer's facility and do not engage in assertive or aggressive behavior toward people entering the facility. Those arguments were rejected by the ALJ in In re Local Union No. 1827, United Broth. of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 2003 WL 21206515 (NLRB Div. of Judges, May 9, 2003), a well-reasoned decision now pending before the NLRB. Citing long-standing NLRB precedent, the judge relied upon the following factors to conclude that bannering is equivalent to unlawful picketing:

* the fact that the banner was essentially fixed and not used in patrolling did not materially affect its function as a visually dramatic notice that the union had a labor dispute with the named neutral employer;

* patrolling with or without placards has never been essential to a finding of picketing;

* the essential feature of picketing is the placement of individuals at workplace entrances; and

* confrontation in the sense of assertive or aggressive behavior is not a necessary element of picketing.

In contrast, several federal courts have found bannering to be an expression of free speech, instead of picketing, when they have been asked to grant interim injunctive relief to employers.

posted 7:38 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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