Episodes

  • Constitutional attorney Jeffrey Schwab from the Liberty Justice Center joins Labor Relations Radio to discuss a newly-filed case that, if successful, may open governments up to being “joint employers” with certain private-sector employers.

    Schwab, who is not a labor attorney, served as counsel for Mark Janus in Janus v. AFSCME, the landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court found that public employees could not be compelled to pay money to a union without their consent.

    In this most recent case, Schwab is representing two public defenders who work for the publicly-funded Legal Aid Society in New York City and are required to pay agency fees to the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA).

    The plaintiffs argue that, even though the Legal Aid Society is a private employer under the National Labor Relations Act, since the City of New York funds the pay and benefits and “attaches conditions that, at least in part, exert control over how LAS spends funds received by the City, including, for example, approving bonuses,” the protections under Janus v. AFSCME from being compelled to pay agency fees to a union should apply to them as well.

    Related:

    * Will A Lawsuit Over A Union's Alleged 'Anti-Semitism' Open The Door To Expanding Janus To The Private Sector?

    * Legal Aid lawyers sue union, claiming that dues violate First Amendment

    * Read the lawsuit in full here

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Internationally recognized leadership consultant and CEO of the Parone Group, Irma Parone, joins the podcast to discuss her problem-solving techniques, as well as her book WINX: The Problem-Solving Model to Win Exponentially with Customers, Employees, & Your Bottom Line and her new book WINX for Employees: The Problem-Solving Model to Unlock Workplace Success.

    * To read more about Ms. Parone, view her bio here, or follow her on LinkedIn here.

    * To contact Ms. Parone, visit the Parone Group website here.

    * You can order her books on Amazon here.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Missing episodes?

    Click here to refresh the feed.

  • On this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Cary Burke, a labor attorney with Seyfarth Shaw returns to discuss a number of topics, including a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge’s recent decision that a manager visiting an employee’s LinkedIn profile was ‘surveillance,’ the potential for the NLRB to issue a Cemex Bargaining Order at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama, as well as a number of other potential NLRB actions we might expect in the months ahead.

    Follow Cary Burke on LinkedIn here.

    Related:

    * UAW Has Path to Reverse Mercedes Loss Under New Labor Standard

    * Labor Relations Radio, E95—Seyfarth Shaw's Cary Burke on the 'retroactivity' of Cemex Bargaining Orders and more

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Recently, an administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled that Amazon CEO Andy Jassey’s answers to interview questions violated the National Labor Relations Act.

    Unless the ALJ's decision regarding Jassey's seemingly innocuous statements made during various interviews in 2022 (included in this episode) is overturned, which is unlikely to happen soon, all employers' speech during union-organizing campaigns may be significantly impacted. [See the full ALJ decision here.]

    In this joint episode of Labor Relations Radio and Labor Relations Institute’s Left of Boom show, LRI’s Phil Wilson and Peter List discuss the ALJ’s decision against Amazon, and its ramifications for all employers.

    * NLRB ALJ Decision on Amazon CEO Comments

    * NLRB’s Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • With employee engagement the lowest it’s been in 11 years, Dr. Fiona Jamison, CEO of Spring International, joins Labor Relations Radio host Peter List to discuss the “seismic shift” in employee expectations that has occurred over the past several years and how employers can adapt.

    Fiona’s company, Spring International, is a women-owned, full-service, custom research and consulting firm located in suburban Philadelphia, PA. Across all research (policy, customer, and employee) programs, Spring has helped large corporations using customized employee engagement surveys, onboarding surveys, diversity assessments, exit interviews, & leadership assessments, as well as conducted research in 88 countries and in 25 languages.

    You can follow Fiona Jamison on LinkedIn here, or contact Spring International here.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • According to Gallup, employee engagement is at its lowest point in 11 years.

    The term ‘Employee Engagement’ has been around since 1990. Since then, corporate America has spent millions (billions?) of dollars investing in the “engagement industry”—polls, seminars, consultants and training.

    Why, then, is engagement still so low?

    What Is Employee Engagement? “Employee engagement,” according to one definition, “is a concept in human resources that refers to the degree to which employees are invested in, motivated by and passionate about the work they do and the company for which they work.”

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, returning guest Patricia Garland—author of ‘33 Ways How Not to Screw Up HR’—joins host Peter List to explore possible reasons why employee engagement is low and why, perhaps, we’re asking the wrong questions.

    Related:

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 61—'33 Ways Not To Screw Up HR' Author Patricia Garland

    * Labor Relations Radio, E113—How Your Merit Pay Plan May Cause Union Problems, with Guest Patricia Garland

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • More than 20 years ago, Atlas Container was the cover story of an Inc. magazine article entitled, The Power of Listening (registration required).

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, host Peter List is joined by Paul Centenari, CEO of Atlas Container, a corrugated box manufacturer that practices Open Book Management (OBM).

    In this episode, Paul shares his views on what makes OBM a successful way to manage a business, as well as some of the challenges.

    Related: The Power of Listening—How does an old-line manufacturer in a stagnant industry manage to grow 25% a year for 10 years? By taking its employees seriously.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • David R. Osborne, Senior Fellow for Labor Policy with the Commonwealth Foundation, returns to Labor Relations Radio to discuss his new podcast, Disunion: The Government Union Report, government unions, as well as how unions are working around the Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus decision.

    Read more about the Commonwealth Foundation here.

    Listen to David’s podcast Disunion: Government Union Report:

    * On Spotify

    * On YouTube

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • When Nicole Solas, a stay-at-home mom, was enrolling her child into kindergarten, she asked a few too many questions about what was going to be taught to her child.

    The lack of answers, ultimately, led to public-records requests, which then turned into a lawsuit by the teachers’ union.

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Ms. Solas joins host Peter List to discuss what led to the lawsuit against her, and the three-year saga that she has endured.

    In addition to being a stay-at-home mon, Ms. Solas is a non-practicing attorney and Senior Fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum. She has also appeared as a parent advocate on The Ingraham Angle, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Newsmax National Report, and National Review. Her favorite appearance was on the cover of the New York Post as a featured “domestic terrorist.” She is the 2021 winner of the Goldwater Institute Freedom Award for battling education bureaucrats.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • According to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) press release, “during the first six months of Fiscal Year 2024 (October 1–March 31), union election petitions filed at NLRB field offices rose 35% over the same period in Fiscal Year 2023.”

    In this episode, Labor Relations Institute’s Michael VanDervort joins host Peter List to discuss the union organizing trends, as well as some of the current labor relations topics of the day.

    Related links:

    * The LRI Labor Libraries

    * LRI Newsletter

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • On this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Congressman Burgess Owens (R-UT) discusses his recently-introduced bill, the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act, legislation aimed at exposing “salting,” a common union organizing tactic where individuals are paid by labor unions to infiltrate companies to unionize employers from within.

    Although this nefarious tactic—which relies on deceiving employers and, more importantly, employees—has been around for a long time, in recent years, union “salting” has become more prevalent at companies like Starbucks, Amazon and numerous other companies.

    In addition to the SALT Act, Rep. Owens discusses the foundation he began before entering Congress, the Second Chance 4 Youth.

    Second Chance 4 Youth is a Utah-based non-profit program with the aim to end the cycle of generational incarceration and lower the rates of recidivism. Learn more here.

    Related:

    * Owens Leads Labor Union Transparency Bill

    * About Second Chance 4 Youth

    * Analysis: Workers United paid nearly $2.5 million to organizers, "salts" and activists at Starbucks

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 20—A Primer On How Union Salts and “Moles” Undermine Companies Like Amazon and Others

    * Labor Relations Radio, E116—Labor Attorney Marc Furman and Dealing With Union Salts

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • By Peter List, Editor | April 6, 2024

    Last week, Mike Elk, a pro-union writer, who owns a website called PayDay Report, did a hit piece on me entitled “Anti-UAW Union Buster Secretly Behind Hit Labor News Site.” Here is my response.

    * Perhaps, we owe you an explanation...

    * Union Watchdog: UAW Leaders Bask In Puerto Rico As Members Get Laid Off

    * Congress Should Investigate UAW's Neutrality Agreement & Works Council Scam At VW

    * After Volkswagen Loss, UAW Bosses Turn To Bovine Excrement Manufacturing

    * The UAW At VW: A Desperate Old Dog Tries A Very Old (And Illegal) Trick

    * A Lesson In U.S. Labor Law & How The UAW Is Lying Its Way Into The South With VW's Help

    * Why Are VW's German Union Bosses Backtracking On Their Expansion Ultimatum Now?

    * Anti-UAW Workers File NLRB Charges Over VW's Pro-Union Coercion

    * Why Doesn't The UAW Want A Secret-Ballot Election At VW?

    * Anti-UAW Workers File NLRB Charges Over VW's Pro-Union Coercion

    * Deutschland Meets Detroit: UAW partners with German union to launch all-out invasion of Mercedes & VW plants in U.S.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Have you ever wondered why, on the topic of immigration, unions have gone from protectionism to tacitly supporting so-called “open borders?”

    In the episode of Labor Relations Radio, Michael Watson, Research Director for the Capital Research Center shares what can be considered an ‘origin story’ on how unions went from favoring tighter restrictions on immigration to almost no restrictions at all today.

    Check out Michael Watson’s work at the Capitol Research Center:

    * The Turn at the Millennium: Why Big Labor Switched Sides on Immigration

    * Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Membership Decline

    * Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: A Trade Unionist in the White House

    * Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Causes of the Long Decline

    * Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Labor’s Private-Sector Left

    * Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: A New Power Rises

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Reputation Partners’ CEO Nick Kalm returns to Labor Relations Radio to discuss Chicago politics, our nation’s immigration challenges, as well as to share some political observations and prognostications regarding the 2024 national elections.

    Related:

    * The Chicago Teachers Union Wants to End Student Homelessness at the Bargaining Table

    * Labor Relations Radio, E99—Do unions have an Anti-Israel problem? A conversation with Nick Kalm

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 45—Guests Nick Kalm and Haley Hartmann on Gen Z in the Workplace

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 9—Reputation Partners' CEO Nick Kalm On Attacks On Company Brands

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations Radio is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Thought leader and renowned labor attorney Michael Lotito, with Littler Mendelson’s Workplace Policy Institute, returns to Labor Relations Radio to break down the U.S. Supreme Court case involving the “Chevron Doctrine,” and how it may impact government agencies, as it pertains to labor and employee relations.

    In particular, Mr. Lotito discusses the Supreme Court’s case as it may relate to the current independent contractor issue, as well as the NLRB’s joint-employer rule.

    Related:

    * On 'Chevron' Deference and a Path Forward

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 37—Thought Leader Michael Lotito on the Emma Coalition and the radical and transformational changes coming to America’s workforce

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 12—Guest: Michael J. Lotito, Labor Attorney and Nationally-Recognized Thought Leader on Workplace Policy

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Nearly one-third of the manufacturing workforce is over 55. — Michele Vincent

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Michele Vincent, the host of The U.S. Manufacturing Workforce Podcast shares some of the alarming research she has gathered on the changing demographics of our workforce.

    * Listen to Michele’s episode “What’s to come, 2024 Predictions” on Apple

    * Listen to Michele’s episode “What’s to come, 2024 Predictions” on Spotify

    To obtain the information Michelle shared, go here.

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 59—MADI Corp's Michele Vincent on Preparing for Strikes

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Note: Nothing in this episode of Labor Relations Radio should be construed as legal advice. If you are experiencing union activity, union salting, or other labor issues with potential legal risk, you should contact your labor attorney.

    Labor Attorney Marc Furman, a Partner with the law firm Cohen Seglias has a unique way of advising his clients on how to deal with union “salts.”

    While Marc’s clients span a broad range of industries throughout the United States, including manufacturing, hotel and hospitality, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, food processing and distribution, and financial services, Marc particularly focuses on representing construction companies in matters involving unions and union organizing, picketing, and prevailing wage situations.

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Marc shares some insights that listeners may find informative and helpful.

    Note: Nothing in this episode of Labor Relations Radio should be construed as legal advice. If you are experiencing union activity, union salting, or other labor issues with potential legal risk, you should contact your labor attorney. Should you wish to contact Marc Furman, you can do so here.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Often, despite disagreeing with the political positions and spending, and without knowing there are alternatives, educators join traditional teachers union like the AFT and NEA due to insurance benefits.

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, host Peter List is joined by Noelani Kahapea, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Association of American Educators (AAE).

    The AAE, according to its website, is the “largest national, non-union, professional educators' organization, advancing the profession by offering a modern approach to teacher representation and educational advocacy, as well as promoting professionalism, collaboration and excellence without a partisan agenda.”

    Ms. Kahapea explains the benefits provided to AAE members at a fraction of the cost that are usually charged to traditional teachers unions, as well as a large distinction in how benefits are used.

    To get more information about the Association of American Educators (AAE), go here.

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, become a paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • Frank Ricci, a Labor Fellow at Yankee Institute, Retired Union President for New Haven (CT) Fire Fighters, and Battalion Chief, returns to Labor Relations Radio to discuss how teachers’ unions and their progressive counterparts are using the collective bargaining process to put costly social-justice programs into contracts under the nose of taxpayers.

    In Boston, Ricci wrote recently, teachers’ union president Jessica Tang announced they secured “an unprecedented $50 million to commence bolstering the affordable housing that Boston students and families require.”

    The Boston contract is being utilized as a template by the AFL-CIO to advance housing and ‘environmental justice,’ he notes.

    Related:

    * How The Teachers Unions Embed Socialism Into Their Contracts

    * How Superintendents Deceive Taxpayers into Higher School Budgets

    * Labor Relations Radio, E87—Guests Frank Ricci & Keith Williams on Marxist Union Salts

    For all prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio, go here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported.. To receive new posts and support our work, become a subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe
  • This episode of Labor Relations Radio is intended for HR practitioners and business owners responsible for administering pay plans for employees.

    Do you have a merit pay or pay-for-performance plan? Are you administering it properly? What about your managers?

    In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, returning guest Patricia Garland, author of 33 Ways Not to Screw Up HR, joins host Peter List to discuss “Barbara”—a highly-rated employee who went from elation to anger when her employer gave her a merit increase as part of a poorly-managed merit pay plan.

    Ms. Garland shares her views on what to do, as well as what not to do when administering a pay-for-performance or merit pay plan.

    Related:

    * Labor Relations Radio, Ep. 61—'33 Ways Not To Screw Up HR' Author Patricia Garland

    Order ‘33 Ways Not To Screw Up HR’ on Amazon.

    You can find prior episodes of Labor Relations Radio here.

    LaborUnionNews.com and Labor Relations Radio are subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laborunionnews.substack.com/subscribe