You will recall last June 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposed a rule that would alter the union election process and in my opinion, have an adverse impact on employees across the United States. I personally testified to the NLRB in Washington DC that this proposed rule, RIN 3142-AA08, seems to be a clear contradiction to Congressional intent as they refused to endorse similar changes in the failed Employee Free Choice Act legislation last year. In addition to hearing 66 testimonies, the NLRB received more than 65,000 written comments on ...

As 2011 comes to a close, labor and employee relations teams everywhere are preparing to conduct their 2012 employee opinion surveys, climate assessments and focus groups. Employers want to pinpoint what makes employee morale surge and what makes employee morale plummet. The consultants of labor relations consulting firm, Oliver Bell, Inc., will be the first to tell you, however, that many employers are missing the most critical step in this process and thereby shooting themselves ...

Houston, Texas - September 20, 2011

Oliver Bell, founder of the Texas Labor & Employee Relations Consortium (TLERC), announced today that former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Peter Kirsanow will join former Deputy Secretary of Labor Andrew Siff as featured presenters at the October 6th TLERC meeting.   The Houston meeting will be hosted by ...

Oliver Bell, Inc. Warns Employers that Non-compliance with proposed reporting changes in the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) could carry stiff penalties, including prison time for your top executives (CEO/CFO). These significant changes include mandated reporting for many common human resource activities. This proposal is flying under the radar and receiving little public comment. The impact of these proposed changes is a labor relations game-changer.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) September 01, 2011

Oliver J. Bell, a leading labor relations consultant, is one of about 60 individuals selected to participate in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing process on July 18th -19th to offer public comments regarding recent proposed changes in the union election process.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) July 12, 2011

Oliver J. Bell, CEO of Oliver Bell, Inc. and founder of the Texas Labor & Employee Relations Consortium believes that despite political pressure, the NLRB must resist indulging the special interests of ...

Many of you are following the budget challenges and labor unrest in Wisconsin. The popular media question:  Is the Governor balancing the budget or union busting? 

From all the information we have reviewed... he is balancing the budget but his approach has a significant impact on labor. The real issue is are his actions justified and/or reasonable under the circumstances?  Depending on who you listen to, the answer varies. If you accept his (the Governor's) argument ...

This week's edition of the Labor Relations Update: One-on-One with Oliver Bell includes 11 articles. We touch on recent happenings in the area of Legal Rulings on EEO and Company Email. We also discuss Union Organizing and Corporate Campaigns, NLRB Activities, and the recently introduced Secret Ballot Protection Act. Click here for the newsletter.

This past week, I  had the honor of  being the keynote speaker for The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston Youth of the Year Scholarship Dinner.  I spoke to hundreds of kids and parents about the value of education, making good decisions and learning to reach for opportunity (and not just waiting for life to happen to you).

As employers, we have ...

Mismanaged change or at a poor outcome of ...

In our last issue, we reported that everyone should expect an increase in requests for neutrality agreements. We stand by that prediction. A neutrality agreement can still have an election component. In these cases, the union has ...

Union Membership is still in decline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its 2010 union membership update. The union membership rate is defined as "the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union."  For 2010, total union membership, public and private sector, was 11.9%. This is down from 12.3% in 2009.   The number of wage and salary workers currently in unions is 14.7 million. This is a decrease ...

The most important thing you can do in the face of rapid change is stay ahead of the curve.  One way to do this is to engage your workforce in labor-management  focus groups. 

Whether you are union or nonunion, we encourage you to partner with your employees or union leaders and align your business strategies.  We have proof positive that this approach WORKS if the parties are willing to engage and at least listen.  At the end of the day, aligning your business strategy with your labor relations strategy will help you successfully navigate impending changes.

Two weeks ago, we mentioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Rule Proposal for posting of notices regarding organizing.  Some in labor relations may view this as a good step... some may view as a negative.  Regardless of your bias, this action foreshadows a trend we have talked about for several months.  That trend will be the use of bureacratic rule making to circumvent legislation to "make it easier for unions to organize" in any workplace.  Expect rule change proposals from the NLRB regarding not only notice posting but also: 

• Shorter election time frames (as short as 7 days),
• Introduction of mediation for first contracts
• Greater penalties (including financial penalties) for unfair labor practices. 

In other words, expect an effort to implement the failed Employee Free Choice Act legislation via rule making.  Proposals to make these changes will be on the table in full or in part not later than June 2011.  Don't be suprised if changes in each of these areas are proposed in 30-60 day increments over the first half of 2011. 

While unions continue to wait for modifications to organizing rules, expect them to approach employers in greater numbers seeking "Neutrality Agreements."  Many in management are familiar with neutrality agreements.  However, some of your peers in the operations leadership and human resource leadership world are not. 

A "Neutrality Agreement" is a unilateral request from a labor union to an employer asking the employer to stand down and be neutral (say nothing) while the union attempts to organize your employees.  The union does not stand down.  It accelerates its organizing efforts in exchange for not disparaging the employer during the organizing campaign.  A union will often ask the employer to sign a document agreeing to this action.  The signed document can be a binding agreement enforceable in other jurisdictions.

No employer is required to agree to or sign a neutrality agreement.  A neutrality agreement is the equivalent of forfeiting your 1^st amendment rights to free speech regarding organizing issues in the workplace.  You have a right to discuss issues you feell will impact your business.  If you want to sign away that right in a Neutrality Agreement, that is your perogative.  If you do not want to sign such a document, that is also your right.  Don't be buffaloed or deceived into signing a neutrality agreement that is not in your business' interest and your employees' interests.

On its face, the proposed rule change is innocuous.  It is just letting employees know they have right to unionize or not (although the latter is not clear).  We think this is a misdirection play. 

 What is clear is that whether or not unionization is justified in a workplace setting, there is going to be a great increase in union organizing  activity with this rule change (we conservatively estimate union organizing drives will increase by a factor of 100).  This activity will adversely impact productive work time employers and employees could more effectively utilize to try to pull themselves out of this recession.  It will also impact administrative and legal costs. 

The timing is conspicuous and smacks of political payback now that the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is unlikely.  Employers and employees should anticipate similar steps from the NLRB as they try to use "rulemaking" to make an end run to implement new labor rules that Congress would not directly legislate. 

In case you missed it, as most employers and employees were turning their attention to spending time with family and friends for the Holiday Season, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced via press release on December 21, 2010 -  A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.