Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the summer 2019 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This edition examines the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new framework for determining whether an incumbent union has lost the support of a majority of bargaining unit members in circumstances where the employer informs the union that it will withdraw recognition when the current agreement expires. Fortunately, the current Board is peeling back policies and precedent that masquerade as protecting employee rights while actually impeding employee choice. As a result of the new framework, the Board will now require a union seeking to restore recognition to file a petition for a Board-conducted, secret-ballot representation election in order to establish that it once again enjoys majority support.

This issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor also discusses the NLRB’s notice of proposed rulemaking with regard to several of its election and recognition policies. According to the Board, the proposed amendments are designed to “better protect employees’ statutory right of free choice on questions concerning representation.” Finally, we cover the Board’s first decision addressing employers’ use of mandatory arbitration agreements since the Supreme Court’s 2018 Epic Systems decision, and we present an overview of the latest decisions at the NLRB...