Recent Developments

In one of the first local elections held under the NLRB’s new rules, about 30 in-patient physical therapists at Boston Medical Center voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and an existing unit of more than 1,500 BMC health care employees. Attorney David Rome helped Massachusetts chapter of 1199SEIU navigate the new NLRB procedures.

A neutral arbitrator agreed with Attorney Jillian Ryan and UFCW Local 328 that a credit union lacked just cause to terminate a teller for violating company policy. It was undisputed that the teller failed to involve a supervisor in resolving a dispute about amount of money deposited by a client. The parties further agreed that the teller's mistake caused her till to be off by $900. The parties disputed whether termination was the appropriate penalty.

An administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board has agreed that the employee handbook of retail titan Macy's violates federal labor law. Attorneys Alfred Gordon O'Connell and Jillian Ryan filed a brief in support of the unfair labor practice charge filed by Pyle Rome Ehrenberg, PC client UFCW Local 1445. They persuaded the judge to order Macy's to notify all of its employees across the country that it has changed its unlawful rules and to post a notice in all its U.S.

Attorney Tod Cochran persuaded an arbitrator that warehouse employees represented by
UFCW Local 791 and who are forced to stay and work after midnight on Easter Sunday are entitled to double time pay under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement.

A neutral arbitrator agreed with Attorney Ian Russell that Bridgewell, Inc. lacked just cause to terminate a low-wage driver for a first-time offense of improper cell phone use. SEIU Local 509 negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that provides for just cause protections against employe discipline. Just cause is widely recognized to require that an employer apply progressive discipline, meaning that discipline should follow an incremental process (counseling, then warning, then suspension) before imposing termination.

Attorney Patrick Bryant persuaded a neutral arbitrator that
SEIU Local 509 has a right to protect a probationary teacher from unlawful discrimination. Many collective bargaining agreements guarantee that permanent employees are protected from discipline or discharge that is not supported by "just cause." At the same time, many of these same agreements provide no such guarantee for probationary employees.

Following an investigation, the Department of Labor Relations today issued a complaint alleging that the Town of Scituate violated its legal obligations to Scituate Firefighters Union, Local 1464 by unilaterally adding components to Lieutenant promotional process. Attorney Patrick Bryant represented Local 1464 during the DLR investigation.

Attorney Tod Cochran persuaded an arbitrator that Shaw's transfer of maintenance work to outside contractors violated the collective bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 791. The Arbitrator rejected the grocer's contention that the transfer was an “elimination of a function” or a managerial prerogative permitted by the contract. He instead agreed that the wholesale transfer was a layoff for purposes of the contractual requirement that Shaw's demonstrate a lack of work before pursuing a layoff.

Attorney Patrick Bryant persuaded the Boston Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board that "Temporary Faculty" should be included in a proposed faculty bargaining unit at Lesley University. Last year, part-time adjuncts voted overwhelmingly to form a union to improve their working conditions. Now, Faculty Forward of SEIU Local 509 seeks to build on that success by organizing Lesley's full-time and part-time faculty, who are sometimes referred to as "core faculty."

A hearing officer of the Department of Labor Relations agreed with Attorney Jillian Ryan that the City of Haverhill unlawfully changed how fire fighters comply with the state ethics law. This case is an important reminder that obligations imposed by state law on municipalities do not relieve these public employers from negotiating with unions about how to comply with the law. Attorney Ryan represented Haverhill Fire fighters Local 1011, IAFF in this unfair labor practice proceeeding.