This week in healthcare labor relations:
Boston Medical Center: Around 160 registered nurses who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) authorized a three-day strike. They did so “in solidarity” with at least 2,000 RNs, who are represented by SEIU Healthcare and recently greenlighting their own strike. No strike date has been set yet.
Mass General Brigham: Also in Boston, MNA-represented nurses rallied for two days before authorizing their own strike in conjunction with nurses from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. This leaves around 4,000 nurses poised for an open-ended walkout. Earlier this summer, Brigham nurses went on a one-day strike, which extended into a weeklong lockout so that the hospital could fulfill its contractual commitments to travel nurses.
Allina Health: Following a four-day strike by 150 doctors in Minneapolis, Doctors Council SEIU and the employer reached a tentative three-year deal. No wage details have been made public yet, but reportedly, the contract includes “language providing greater professional autonomy,” which is a pain point for doctors who are concerned about corporatization of healthcare systems. Members will vote “in the coming days,” and this deal took three years to reach after these doctors unionized.
Teamsters Hollywood chief Lindsay Dougherty in hot water?
The Teamsters recently broke free from its 37-year federal monitorship, but that doesn’t mean the entire union is free from drama.
Local 399 Principal Officer Lindsay Dougherty is one of three Teamsters officials under scrutiny by Independent Investigations Officer Timothy S. Hillman, who has reportedly recommended that disciplinary charges be filed over a chaotic incident at a 2024 meeting. There, Teamsters member Franz Holzinger sustained multiple facial fractures after what he claims was a brutal assault. He was allegedly struck by Hells Angels member Flint Hardman, who had reportedly been directed to “keep an eye” on Holzinger after his protests about production incentives and taxes.
Whether this investigation puts a damper on Dougherty’s media stardom remains to be seen. She previously expressed hopes that the Teamsters would become more “militant,” and siding with a Hells Angel who was accused of violently beating up a member would be (allegedly!) one way to achieve that goal.
The NLRB set aside Biden-era precedent on certain types of misconduct:
Recently, General Counsel (GC) Crystal Carey’s Memo 26-04 included a wish list of decisions that she wanted to see overturned following James Macy’s confirmation as the third GOP vote. Technically, none of those decisions have been overturned yet, but the Board set a decision aside in Lion Elastomers, which is a “close enough” result for employers.
This goes back to the NLRB’s 2023 Lion Elastomers II decision, which instructed employers to tolerate certain types of misconduct, including threats and harassment, if that misconduct could fall under the umbrella of protected activity. In Lion Elastomers II, the Board overturned the General Motors LLC standard, which has now been reinstated by the current NLRB. The legal maneuverings are complicated, but the Board relied on the Fifth Circuit’s decision (and remand order).
The result: The General Motors LLC standard returns with the Wright Line test in tow. This means that the GC must now prove that an employer used protected activity as “a motivating factor” for termination and other discipline. An employer can defend itself by showing that the discipline would have occurred regardless of whether the activity was protected.
In the majority decision, Chair James Murphy and members Scott Mayer and James Macy declared, “We are merely recognizing the court’s holding now that the case is back before us.” In a concurrence, Murphy pointed out that a full overturning would have been “beyond the scope of the current remand,” and would put the current Board in the same type of overstepping mode that the Fifth Circuit faulted the Abruzzo Board for. Whew.
AutoZone workers might unionize with the UAW for the first time:
Shawn Fain is likely coordinating a museum workers’ strike, but at least sometimes, the UAW is still trying to stay in its own lane related to automobiles. The union withdrew a July petition at a White Plains, NY store and filed another for a unit of 11 workers in August.
Progressive publication Labor Notes points out that this petition is the first effort at AutoZone since the Teamsters tried and failed to organize 200 workers at a distribution center. AutoZone has over 6,600 stores throughout the U.S., so perhaps Fain is looking for his own Starbucks. He does love his “moon shots,” after all.
A Vegas local is pushing for action on the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA):
Will the FLCA see a Senate vote before the current session ends? At least one union is watching the clock.
In Vegas, the Culinary Union teamed up with Democratic Senators Cory Booker (NJ) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) to “urgently pass” this legislation, which, as we have previously discussed, would be terrible for both employers and workers.
The House already passed the FLCA 230 to 193, and several Republican senators, including Josh Hawley, support this Teamsters-lobbied legislation. If the FLCA passes, it would fundamentally change how first contracts are negotiated and install a federal mediator if a first contract doesn’t happen within 90 days of starting negotiations, with binding arbitration to follow if mediation fails.
The question of whether this will come to a vote this session remains a mystery. The Senate is on recess for most of October and has holiday hiatuses in November and December. That leaves limited time to push the FLCA through since much focus is likely going toward appropriations bills. There is, however, a possibility that the FLCA will be attached to a spending bill, so employers should stay tuned.
