Senior Vice President, Employment Policy Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) campaign to unionize Starbucks has generated a lot of attention. And unfortunately, it has also generated credible allegations from a whistleblower that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has been playing favorites, helping the SEIU win elections. The allegations have triggered an investigation by the NLRB’s Inspector General into how the agency is conducting mail ballot elections. The House Education and Workforce Committee has also begun examining the allegations.
Now the NLRB has launched a new tactic to “encourage” union wins—a preemptive bargaining order requiring an employer to recognize and bargain with a union. So-called Gissel bargaining orders are meant to be used only in particularly egregious cases where an employer is alleged to have engaged in misconduct so pervasive that no fair election could be held. In the case of a Starbucks store in Overland Park, Kansas, however, NLRB administrative law judge (ALJ) Arthur Amchan recently decided to impose a Gissel bargaining order to cover a re-run election that hasn’t even been scheduled yet. That is truly egregious.
A little bit of background: In Overland Park, the SEIU won an election in February amongst a group of 20 Starbucks employees. However, an NLRB hearing officer determined that the election should be overturned due to Board misconduct, and Starbucks itself...
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