Unions & Labor Law Reform Blog : Unions Lawyer & Attorney : Jackson Lewis Law Firm : Employee Free Choice Act, Collective Bargaining

On January 1, 2010, Oregon Senate Bill 519 became effective, making Oregon the first state in the country to bar employers from requiring employees to attend meetings to learn about the company’s views about unionization. The law has several components, including the creation of a new classification of wrongful termination lawsuits and the requirement that all Oregon employers post a notice advising employees about their rights under SB 519. 

Jackson Lewis was selected by Associated Oregon Industries and the United States Chamber of Commerce to challenge SB 519 on behalf of their membership. On December 22, 2009, we filed a federal lawsuit against the Oregon Labor Commissioner, seeking injunctive relief and a declaration that SB 519 violates the National Labor Relations Act and the United States Constitution. We are optimistic the court will rule in our favor. Meanwhile, SB 519 remains in effect and employers throughout Oregon are mandated to comply with the posting requirement.

The law does not provide specifics about the posting requirement, other than to state it must be posted in a “place normally reserved for employment-related notices and in a place commonly frequented by employees.” The posting must apprise employees of their rights under SB 519. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has stated it does not intend to publish a model notice, leaving employers in a state of uncertainty. Employers can either post the statute itself (available at http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/sb0500.dir/sb0519.en.pdf), or develop a separate posting. 

Jackson Lewis has developed a notice that employers may download and post. Although we believe the posting is compliant, please bear in mind that it has not been approved by BOLI.     Its format follows the notice of unemployment rights published by the Oregon Employment Department. 

We will provide further updates on the SB 519 challenge as it progresses through the trial court and beyond. Jackson Lewis attorneys are available answer questions about SB 519 and other workplace laws.

(Thanks to Scott Oborne in our Portland, Oregon office.)

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As we reported in “With EFCA ‘Reform’ on Hold in Congress, Unions Turn to State Legislatures for Labor Law Change,” Kris Maher wrote an article discussing the signing into law of the “Worker Freedom Act” in Oregon, which prohibits employers from holding mandatory meetings with employees to discuss union organizing.  In Washington state, Oregon’s neighbor to the North, a similar bill, the “Worker Privacy Act” has been proposed.  This bill was gaining momentum towards passage until an e-mail chain from Jeff Johnson, Special Assistant to the President Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO was leaked.  In this e-mail, Mr. Johnson stated, “Union leaders would send a message to the State Democratic party and to the Truman and Roosevelt funds from the House and Senate that ‘not another dime from labor’ until the Governor signs the Worker Privacy Act.”

In his article, Maher stated that once the e-mail was leaked to Washington State lawmakers they dropped the bill on the grounds that the e-mail raised “legal and ethical questions.”

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In his article, “Unions Push Issues in State Capitals,” published in The Wall Street Journal, Kris Maher discusses organized labor’s attempt to effect labor law change in state legislatures while pursuing a similar goal nationally in Congress.

Mr. Maher focuses on the Worker Freedom Act passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed into law this past June, which is scheduled to take effect in January 2010.  The Oregon law in effect would prohibit employers from holding mandatory meetings with employees for the purpose of discussing employees’ right to organize.

Not only is there a very strong argument that this law is pre-empted by federal labor law, but as J.L. Wilson, Vice President of Government Affairs for Associated Oregon Industries, is quoted in the article, “[i]t completely undermines employer free speech.”  Associated Oregon Industries, with the assistance of Jackson Lewis LLP, plans on filing a lawsuit challenging the new law on those constitutional grounds.  Attorneys at Jackson Lewis challenged a similar law passed in California based on the ground that it, too, unlawfully violated an employer’s right to free speech.  The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately agreed with our argument, and the law was struck down.

Mr. Maher correctly notes that while bills similar to the Oregon law also were proposed in Connecticut and Michigan, both of those failed to become law, making Oregon the first state to enact such a law.

The Oregon law and attempts in other states to pass similar bills are alarming.  Patrick Semmens of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation stated that the Oregon law is “a step close toward card check.”  Director of Legislative Affairs for the AFL-CIO, William Samuel stated, “While Congress is still debating the federal legislation, we think it’s important to move ahead in states where it’s possible to take action.”

State law initiatives by organized labor must not be overlooked despite the attention on EFCA.

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