Protecting Employers Since 1985

NLRB Launches “Know Your Rights” Card Series

By Richard H. Wessels / March 31, 2023

With its pro-employee majority and new General Counsel, the NLRB is continuing in their aggressive pursuit of employers. Recently they announced the development of a “Know your Rights” card series to educate workers on their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The cards are designed to be printed, folded, and used by workers in…

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NLRB Returns to Micro Units in NLRB Election Cases

By Richard H. Wessels / March 1, 2023

The pro union Board has returned to the Specialty Healthcare appropriate unit standard. This pretty much means that Unions will get whatever they want as the voting unit for a union organizing election. Click here for the NLRB’s press release. Questions? Contact Richard Wessels at 630.377.1554 or by email

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NLRB Reverses Course and Holds that Dues Checkoff provisions of a labor contract survive contract expiration

By Richard H. Wessels / October 4, 2022

Once again, the NLRB has reversed course and overruled prior case law. This time, the holding is that an employer cannot unilaterally stop union dues checkoff when a collective bargaining agreement ends. Reversals such as this can be expected because union-leaning members of the Board have a three-two majority. The issue is whether an employer,…

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High Wage Expectations In Collective Bargaining

By Richard H. Wessels / June 21, 2022

It is becoming clear that union employees in the last year or so have high wage expectations. Contract settlements are becoming much more difficult to achieve. Here are some of the reasons for it. Covid is a big part of it. Employees will regularly say “we worked our butts off during Covid, risked our health,…

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Construction Industry Labor Law

By Richard H. Wessels / March 25, 2022

Construction industry labor law is very different from regular labor law. The labor agreements are different, and there is often no negotiating by employers who are stuck with an area-wide, multi-employer contract. The organizing process is typically different. Usually there are not NLRB elections and unions will attempt to organize by putting pressure on the…

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Pro-Union Changes Coming at the NLRB

By Richard H. Wessels / August 16, 2021

The newly appointed General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, of the National Labor Relations Board has just given the business community a road map of her pro-union agenda. Ms. Abruzzo comes to the key General Counsel position after serving as an attorney for the Communication Workers of America. On August 12, 2021, Ms. Abruzzo issued a memorandum…

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News update on NLRB General Counsel

By Richard H. Wessels / January 28, 2021

Hot off the presses! The NLRB just released the news that Peter Sung Ohr has been appointed General Counsel to replace Peter Robb. It’s clear that the Biden administration’s strategy is to deny the pro-business forces at the NLRB the opportunity to make continued changes during the last ten months of Peter Robb’s term. Peter…

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Look for An About Face in the NLRB’s Business-Friendly Posture

By Richard H. Wessels / January 26, 2021

The new Biden administration signaled an aggressive approach to changes at the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” and/or “Board”). On his first day in office, President Joe Biden made good on a threat to fire National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb, who had rebuffed an earlier request to resign. Robb’s firing ends a…

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Be Careful About Those Old Construction Industry Union Contracts

By Richard H. Wessels / December 17, 2020

We see the same fact pattern time after time. A construction company signed a union contract (or perhaps several union contracts) years ago to finish a job under threat of union pickets. The company assumed that the dormant contracts were a dead issue years later because they had not been used for many years. Perhaps…

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Unions – What’s Happening During the Pandemic?

By Richard H. Wessels / July 29, 2020

First, I want to say that we are here to help. COVID-19 has created some real challenges and never before seen issues. Here is some background as well as a few observations. National Labor Relations Board As of now, all NLRB offices are closed to the public. The NLRB is operational but most employees are…

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