DC Circuit Remands T-Mobile Union Cases to NLRB for Further Consideration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sent back to the National Labor Relations Board a dispute over whether T-Mobile unlawfully set up a shadow labor organization, T Voice, to undermine support for the Communications Workers of America.…
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“Essential to the Board’s decision here was its view that an organization does not engage in ‘dealing with’ an employer unless it makes ‘group proposals’ to the employer,” said a unanimous Friday decision, written by Judge Judith Rogers, in docket 20-1044. “The ‘group proposals’ requirement is in tension with the cases cited by CWA in which the Board found there was a labor organization without examining whether employee proposals had been embraced by the group through any formal process.” Rogers said NLRB must consider the difference between a group proposal, which is protected under the National Labor Relations Act, and feedback from workers to management. The court said it normally would defer to the NLRB, but in this case, given unanswered questions, it remanded the case for further consideration. “The court is left uncertain about what the record must show for the Board to find that an organization made group proposals, as opposed to engaging in mere brainstorming. Is it enough that an employee representative makes a proposal while acting in a representative capacity?” Rogers wrote. Judges Harry Edwards and David Tatel were the other panel members. T-Mobile and CWA didn't comment.