U.S. Labor Board Restores Contract Workers' Right To Organize

The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Friday tossed out a ruling issued during the Trump administration that barred many workers from engaging in union organizing and picketing on private property where they work but that is not owned by their employer, Daniel Wiessner reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: NLRB’s Democratic majority in a 3-2 decision said businesses may only bar contractors' employees from organizing or picketing if those activities would interfere with the use of private property or "is justified by another legitimate business reason."

NLRB’s Democratic majority in a 3-2 decision said businesses may only bar contractors' employees from organizing or picketing if those activities would interfere with the use of private property or "is justified by another legitimate business reason."

The NLRB in 2019 said musicians with the San Antonio Symphony in Texas did not have the right to distribute leaflets to patrons of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, where they often performed, because the venue does not employ them.

The musicians were protesting the venue's decision to use recorded rather than live music. Friday's ruling overturns that decision, which a Washington, D.C.-based federal appeals court last year rejected and sent back to the board.

Echoing the court, the NLRB on Friday said the 2019 ruling essentially made it impossible for many workers to engage in activity protected by federal labor law. Many contract employees work and interact with coworkers exclusively on other companies' property, the board said.

The NLRB revived a standard adopted in 2011 allowing protected activity by contract workers as long as it is not disruptive.

Lawyers for the Tobin Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, a union that represents the San Antonio Symphony's members.

NLRB Chairperson Lauren McFerran, a Democrat, in a statement said the decision "ensures that contract employees' rights are protected and respected in a manner appropriate to the nature of their employment."

The board's two Republican members, Marvin Kaplan and John Ring, said in dissent that the 2019 ruling properly held that contract workers only have protected rights when they work exclusively at a single site. The San Antonio Symphony musicians performed at other venues.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic