NLRB Downplayed Pro-Union Worker Threats

Last week an appeals court found that the National Labor Relations Board “abused its discretion” when it downplayed “pro-union” threats against workers during a 2013 union organizing drive at a nursing home. Pennsylvania’s ManorCare objected to certifying the union because it claimed two employees had threatened violence against nursing aides who voted against joining a union. The NLRB certified the election, leading ManorCare to take the case to court. A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned union certification, saying the NLRB acted inappropriately by finding that the threats “did not create a ‘general atmosphere of fear and reprisal’ according to the Board’s own precedent.”