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NLRB Upholds Small Barg Units for Wireless Stores
The National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. has ruled that a small cluster of Verizon Wireless stores in California constitute an appropriate unit for collective bargaining, District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler reported.
"This is a significant victory for future organizing," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen. "It means that all over the country, wherever there are Verizon stores, we can go in and organize them. We don't have to have statewide units."
Two years ago Local 9416 organized 29 retail sales workers in three Bakersfield, Calif., Verizon Wireless stores. The regional director for NLRB Region 31 at that time ruled that the three stores were an appropriate unit.
But on April 19, 2002, the NLRB granted the employer's request for a review and impounded the ballots. They are scheduled to be opened and counted next week, said Virginia Rodriguez-Jones, administrative assistant to Bixler.
Most of the workers who voted in the election have moved on to other jobs.
"The employer put a lot of pressure on the workers right before the election, so we're not terribly optimistic," Rodriquez-Jones said. "But if we get a majority, the result stands. CWA would represent the employees working in those stores now. That would be very good news indeed."
In deciding the case, the NLRB considered whether the board's presumption in favor of system-wide units for public utilities should apply to the wireless telephone industry; whether the presumption extends to units composed solely of sales employees employed in retail stores; and regardless of whether the presumption applies, whether the Bakersfield unit is appropriate.
The board noted that the presumption in favor of system-wide units for public utilities is based upon the need to protect the public from loss of service during a potential strike.
"The minimal risk of harm to the public does not justify the restriction on employees' rights to organize imposed by the system-wide presumption," the board concluded. Further, it questioned whether wireless telephony qualifies as a public utility.
"While we recognize that wireless telephone service has risen in importance in today's technology driven society, we are not certain that it has become a true 'essential service that the industry alone can adequately provide,' such as electricity, gas or wireline based telephone services that have been historically considered public utilities."
The board concurred with the regional director and said that the Bakersfield stores "represent an appropriate retail store unit based on the geographic proximity of the stores, the substantial autonomy invested in each store manager, the regular contact between the employees at the Bakersfield facilities, the common terms and conditions of employment, the shared overflow inventory, and the evidence of permanent transfers."
"In sum, we find that the board's standards with respect to units in the public utility industry do not apply to the type of retail employees at issue in this case," the board wrote, remanding the case to the Region 31.
"This is a significant victory for future organizing," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen. "It means that all over the country, wherever there are Verizon stores, we can go in and organize them. We don't have to have statewide units."
Two years ago Local 9416 organized 29 retail sales workers in three Bakersfield, Calif., Verizon Wireless stores. The regional director for NLRB Region 31 at that time ruled that the three stores were an appropriate unit.
But on April 19, 2002, the NLRB granted the employer's request for a review and impounded the ballots. They are scheduled to be opened and counted next week, said Virginia Rodriguez-Jones, administrative assistant to Bixler.
Most of the workers who voted in the election have moved on to other jobs.
"The employer put a lot of pressure on the workers right before the election, so we're not terribly optimistic," Rodriquez-Jones said. "But if we get a majority, the result stands. CWA would represent the employees working in those stores now. That would be very good news indeed."
In deciding the case, the NLRB considered whether the board's presumption in favor of system-wide units for public utilities should apply to the wireless telephone industry; whether the presumption extends to units composed solely of sales employees employed in retail stores; and regardless of whether the presumption applies, whether the Bakersfield unit is appropriate.
The board noted that the presumption in favor of system-wide units for public utilities is based upon the need to protect the public from loss of service during a potential strike.
"The minimal risk of harm to the public does not justify the restriction on employees' rights to organize imposed by the system-wide presumption," the board concluded. Further, it questioned whether wireless telephony qualifies as a public utility.
"While we recognize that wireless telephone service has risen in importance in today's technology driven society, we are not certain that it has become a true 'essential service that the industry alone can adequately provide,' such as electricity, gas or wireline based telephone services that have been historically considered public utilities."
The board concurred with the regional director and said that the Bakersfield stores "represent an appropriate retail store unit based on the geographic proximity of the stores, the substantial autonomy invested in each store manager, the regular contact between the employees at the Bakersfield facilities, the common terms and conditions of employment, the shared overflow inventory, and the evidence of permanent transfers."
"In sum, we find that the board's standards with respect to units in the public utility industry do not apply to the type of retail employees at issue in this case," the board wrote, remanding the case to the Region 31.