Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Fall 2020 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue offers insight into the future of labor policy in the wake of a politically polarized presidential election year and a sharply divided electorate. Even though the 2020 election is over, we can expect to see continued battles over traditionally pro-labor segments of the workforce, controversial legislation that is likely to be advanced in the near term, and recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) activity.
This issue covers one particularly important aspect of the evolving political situation: the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and its ramifications for employers. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO Act, which, fortunately for employers, never saw the light of day in the U.S. Senate. The PRO Act represents the most fundamental restructuring of labor/management law in U.S. history—perhaps since the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. However, the ultimate fate of the proposed legislation, in its current form, depends on the alignment of several political stars. While it may not see immediate passage, the PRO Act is a clear delineation of organized labor’s agenda—an agenda for which unions will fight and against which many employers will argue in the next Congress and beyond.
In addition to the PRO Act, this issue covers the recent NLRB decision on Section 7 rights and civility in the workplace, the recent general counsel memorandum covering Board decisions on the lawfulness of employer support for union organizing drives, and new NLRB investigation protocols.
Whatever the future holds politically, the sharpness of the political divisions, and the narrowness of legislative minorities, all point to a future in which politics will play an even larger role in labor policy. In this issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor, we examine the dynamic and fast-changing labor relations landscape in the next presidential administration and beyond.
