Northern California Guild succeeds in defending rights of employees

Employers that unilaterally impose policies without negotiating with the union over the potential impact such policies will have on the terms and conditions under which union-covered employees work violate federal law.

Confirmation of that came yesterday when the Northern California Media Guild announced that the National Labor Relations Board has found that MediaNews Groups ANG Newspapers' imposed policy restricting employees' use of the company email system is illegal. Businesswire.com

The NLRB panel ordered the company to rescind its illegal policy, post notices that it would cease violating the law and bargain in good faith with the Guild before imposing any more such rules.

Why is this important? Because left unchallenged, employers could impose or change rules regarding personal breaks, lunch breaks, telephone use, days off — you name it — perhaps for only one, or only a few ...

Most of our Guild employers respect the rights of their employees to have Guild representatives bargain on their behalf over any new rules. And usually, the employer and the workers come quickly to agreements that satisfy the needs of both sides. As it should be.