Steven M. Swirsky, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in The Guardian, in “Major US Corporations Threaten to Return Labor to ‘Law of the Jungle,’” by Steven Greenhouse.
Following is an excerpt:
Upset by the surge in union drives, several of the best-known corporations in the US are seeking to cripple the country’s top labor watchdog, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), by having it declared unconstitutional. Some labor experts warn that if those efforts succeed, US labor relations might return to “the law of the jungle”.
In recent weeks, Elon Musk’s SpaceX as well as Amazon, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s have filed legal papers that advance novel arguments aimed at hobbling and perhaps shutting down the NLRB – the federal agency that enforces labor rights and oversees unionization efforts. Those companies are eager to thwart the NLRB after it accused Amazon, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s of breaking the law in battling against unionization and accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight workers for criticizing Musk. …
Steven Swirsky, a management-side employment lawyer with Epstein Becker Green, said, “It would be pretty problematic for employers and unions if there isn’t some structure in place to administer the functions now done by the NLRB.” He said that federal judges won’t want to handle all the cases now litigated before the NLRB. If the labor board is ruled unconstitutional, workers who feel they were illegally fired or otherwise disciplined for backing a union might file a flood of lawsuits in federal courts.
People
Board of Directors / Member of the Firm
