NLRB backs off -- for now -- from undermining state right-to-work laws

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/washingtonbureau/2015/07/nlrb-backs-off-for-now-from-undermining-state.html

Jul 8, 2015, 2:48pm EDT
Kent Hoover

The National Labor Relations Board has backed off from what critics saw as an effort to undermine state right-to-work laws.

The NLRB suspended a request for briefs on whether it should allow unions to collect fees in right-to-work states from non-union workers who are represented by unions in grievance procedures. That’s because the case that prompted this request has been settled.

In 25 states with right-to-work laws, workers don’t have to join a union and pay union dues as a condition of employment.

In a case involving a non-union worker at Buckeye Florida Corp., an administrative judge ruled that a United Steelworkers local violated the National Labor Relations Act by making him pay a fee for representing him in a grievance case. The union appealed this ruling, prompting the NLRB to ask for legal opinions as to whether it should change existing rules against unions charging non-members a “fair share” fee for processing grievances. The union withdrew its appeal after the grievance case was settled in the worker’s favor, and the NLRB then withdrew its request for briefs on the “fair share” issue.

FULL story at link.