PELRB Watch and Other NM Labor News

Governor Wins Battle on Labor Board Appointment

The most significant recent PELRB-related news, is that the Supreme Court declined to review District Court Judge Nan Nash's decision that Governor Martinez could appoint the so called "labor representative" upon recommendation of any New Mexico labor organization, not just the biggies, AFSCME Council 18 or CWA Local  7076.  See Albuquerque Journal, Gov. Wins Labor Battle, Mar. 14, 2012.

As readers may recall, I had previously been critical of the underlying reasoning in a state Supreme Court ruling that the Governor's removal power is severely limited as to the PELRB.  See AFSCME v. Martinez, 2011-NMSC-018. To me, the decision appeared

Union and Management Reps Slammed in News, and Other NM Labor News

The past week's news was newsworthy in including two stories that raise questions about collective bargaining representatives.  Although the issues were different, the parallel timing was really quite ironic.  There is also interesting but worrisome news concerning the State Labor Board ("PELRB").

On Friday, February 24, 2012, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a newly retired

Workers Comp and Tribal Immunity Revisited--What a Tangled Web

As discussed in a previous blog, in 2010, the New Mexico Court of Appeals concluded that the Workers Compensation Administration does not have jurisdiction where a Worker is injured in the course of employment at a business  wholly owned and operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe, if the Tribe has not expressly waived sovereign immunity.  See Antonio v. Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino, 2010-NMCA-077, cert. den.  

However, recent cases highlight that there can be quite a bit of parsing between tribal business entities, and as to whether which if any have waived tribal immunity

Public Sector Employee Benefit Obligations Avoided with Chapter 9 Bankruptcy

I have previously written about the threat of unfunded public sector pension obligations.  Since then, several municipalities are reported to be using or contemplating use of Chapter 9 bankruptcy.  See Mark Curriden, "The Next Chapter,"  ABA Journal, Nov. 2011.  In doing so, many of these municipalities cite employee pension and retiree health care obligations as the cause or source of their financial woes.   

An Appropriate Bargaining Unit of Community College Instructors

In a recent case, San Juan College v. San Juan College Labor Management Relations Board, 2011-NMCA-117, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has finally had the opportunity to review what is an "appropriate bargaining unit" under the New Mexico Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA)  and the San Juan College Labor Management Relations Resolution (Local Resolution). 

Happy Belated Birthday, NLRB

Collective bargaining has been increasingly in the news in the last year, and has even made its way back into popular consciousness.  As I've written elsewhere, a number of states are trying to put limitations on public sector collective bargaining, in response to budgetary difficulties  Additionally, there has been a renewed push to pass the federal Employee Free Choice Act, which would permit certification without a secret ballot election over the employer's objection, among other things, and the NLRB has taken several controversial actions of late that have been reported widely.  They have proposed new rules to expedite elections and to require the posting of notice of labor rights, and also filed a charge against Boeing for its attempt to open a plant in right-to-work state South Carolina (the latter issue has now been settled).  

Despite this present heightened public awareness of collective bargaining issues, however, many people do not know that 2010 marked the National Labor Relations Act's (NLRA) 75th anniversary.  In honor of this significant milestone, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and George Washington University had co-sponsored a seminar in October 2010 on the Act and "Its Legacy and Its Future," to which the Winter 2011 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, Vol. 26, No. 2, was largely dedicated. 

In light of this milestone, and the level of popular attention garnered to collective bargaining in the last year or so, it seems to me it is a good time to review what collective bargaining scholars, professionals and advocates have to say about the Act.  

DOL to Require Disclosure of Confidential Client Info?

The U.S. Department of Labor proposes a rule change, concerning the disclosures required of consulting or law firms who advise management regarding union organization.  Many of these firms, and the ABA, say the new rules will impermissibly intrude on the attorney-client relationship, and particularly chill the relationships between small-business owners and their attorneys.