Section 303 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 187, provides a private cause of action for a party injured by a union’s conduct defined as an unfair labor practice under Section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 158(b). Section 8(b)(4)(ii)(B) prohibits a union from inducing a
Picketing
Can you get an injunction against picketing?
By Wally Zimolong on
Posted in Picketing
One of the most frequent questions I receive concerns whether you can get an injunction against a union picketing a job site. The answer, like most, is that it depends. While no doubt annoying, simply displaying infamous rat, shouting, hand billing, or walking around with banners or signs is not enough to get an injunction.…
Unqualified Threat to Picket a Neutral is Unfair Labor Practice
By Wally Zimolong on
On December 27, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board enforced a decades old policy that a union’s unqualified threat to picket a neutral employer at a “common situs” a/k/a a construction site is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Background
The case involved area standards picketing by the IBEW of a project owned…
Union Handbilling: When, Where, and Why it is Legal
By Wally Zimolong on
Posted in Picketing
A few days ago, IBEW Local 98 began began protesting a restaurant owned by professional football player Jahri Evans. The organizers are accusing Evans of violating local construction wage standards and are advertising their dispute with “handbills.”
What are handbills?
Walking down Fremont Street in Las Vegas is impossible without one or several…
Union “Extortion” Under the Hobbs Act
By Wally Zimolong on
Last week’s Boston Globe has a story about the recent dismissal of a criminal case against two Boston city officials for their involvement with an alleged union extortion scheme designed to pressure non-union businesses to give work to members of the local Teamsters Union. (The reporters were kind enough to seek my comments for the…
Court Affirms Injunction Against Mass Picketing …. For Now
By Wally Zimolong on
The Pennsylvania Superior Court gave general contractors and non-union real estate developers a early Christmas gift and a bit of positive news going into the New Year in a recent decision that upheld (for the most part) a trial court’s preliminary injunction enjoining labor unions from engaging in mass picketing and gate blocking of a…
My Comments on Union Labor in the Philadelphia Business Journal
By Wally Zimolong on
On Friday 28 March 2014, I was quoted in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s article “Disunion in the house: The steep price we pay,” regarding the negative economic impact caused by the leaders of the Philadelphia Building Trades (Big Labor). You can read the article here or download a pdf version here.
Why It Took So Long to Indict the Ironworkers
By Wally Zimolong on
News of the indictment of 10 members of the Ironworkers Union, left many wondering “What took them so long?” As any developer or merit shop contractor will tell you, the actions that the Ironworkers are alleged to have engaged in are not solely the purview of the Ironworkers. Indeed threats, violence, and property destruction are…
FAQ’s About Union Picketing
By Wally Zimolong on
With a high number of their members still out of work and an increased willingness of owners to build projects using non-union construction in traditional union dominated markets, trade unions have increased their picketing activity on projects using non-union labor. Here is a list of frequently asked questions we receive from owners and contractors working…
Philly Union Members Arrested
By Wally Zimolong on
Posted in Picketing, Right to Work
Philly.com is reporting that the Philadelphia Police Department has arrested two union members for assault arising out of shenanigans at the Goldtex site. Here is the video of the incident that led to the arrests:
In an early post this month, we asked if there should be more arrests of union leaders and members for…