Labor & Employment Law

NLRB seeks back pay for 400

NLRB has filed a complaint claiming that new owners of a former GE plant cut wages of 400 union workers by $5 to $10 per hour after failing to gain concessions from the union.

NLRB press release:

NLRB complaint seeks back pay for 400 New York employees

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint alleging that an employer substantially cut the wages of union employees at a former GE plant in Waterford, New York a year ago, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

The complaint seeks restoration of wages and back pay for 400 employees whose wages were cut by $5 to $10 per hour after the new owners of the plant, renamed Momentive Performance Materials, failed to gain concessions from the union. A contract between the IUE-CWA Local 81359 and the employer was signed in June 2007 and remains in effect until June 2010.

A hearing on the case (2-CA-27005) has been set for April 5 before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge in Albany.

The case is significant because of the large number of affected employees and the potential size of the back pay award. The plant, which produces silicones, silicone derivatives and quartz products, was purchased from GE by Apollo Management in late 2006.

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees? rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions.

Full post as published by Ross' Employment Law Blog on January 25, 2010 (boomark / email).