A Union’s Effect on Bargaining JENNIFER WILL MCNEES WALLACE & NURICK LLC
Jennifer Will, member with McNees Wallace & Nurick, brings to light the challenges that businesses faced with unions during the pandemic, as well as any effects that this brought to a business’s ability to bargain. CCBJ: What were some of the unique challenges that businesses with unions faced during the early days of
What was bargaining during a pandemic like? Initially, many businesses wanted to pursue contract extensions and defer collective bargaining for a month or even a year. Others wanted to proceed with bargaining but moved to a virtual platform. Traditional labor negotiations over a Zoom platform are, well, not ideal. Rather than everyone committing
the COVID-19 pandemic?
to coming to a conference room for three days to hammer
Jennifer Will: Wages, hours and working conditions
weeks or months, with shorter sessions that lacked
out a successor contract, negotiations dragged on for
are mandatory subjects of bargaining under the
focus and urgency. Where negotiations were live, they
National Labor Relations Act. Businesses able to keep
were surreal – taking place in giant rooms, with masks
running because they were deemed “essential” or could
and sanitizer, but without the handshake at the end.
implement all of the CDC safety protocols or were able to transition to a work-from-home model - still
What about businesses that did not have unions?
received demands to bargain over things like safety, PPE, and hazard or hero pay.
During the pandemic, we saw increased organizing
Did employers have to bargain with their unions over
efforts by unions,
all of those things – hazard pay and PPE?
citing workplace safety
Not necessarily. Many employers determined that they
of getting employee
could continue doing business within the parameters
attention or promises of
of their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the
hazard pay for employees
Union.
who were being forced
concerns as a means
to go to work rather than Parties already with a CBA that set forth employee wages, hours, safety and remote working could not be compelled to come to the table just because the unions or the employees wanted more money or different
work from home. Were union organizing campaigns different
working conditions.
during the pandemic?
Still, many employers found themselves unable to
Navigating a business
follow all CBA provisions and went to the table to
through its first union
bargain voluntarily.
organizing campaign
Jennifer Will is a member with McNees Wallace & Nurick and is co-chair of their Labor and Employment Group. Will works with executives, in-house counsel and human resources professionals to help implement the strategies necessary to achieve their business objectives while staying in compliance with labor and employment laws. Reach her at jwill@mcneeslaw.com.
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