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In the next few weeks, a key ongoing National Labor Relations Board case is slated to be heard: The Teamsters are involved in a case against <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>CEMEX Construction Materials Pacific<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0LLC, with allegations of retaliation, discipline and discharge regarding concerted activities \u2014 along with coercion via threats and benefits bribes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As union action, discourse and attention heats up, many attorneys and legal analysts suspect that General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo seeks to breathe new life into the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Joy Silk<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> doctrine. Last year, she urged the board<\/a> to do just that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So named after a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>1949 case involving Joy Silk Mills<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> \u2014 decided about a decade and a half after NLRB was established \u2014 this revived precedent would allow unions to be formed by a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>majority of workers filling out cards<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> of support, eliminating the need for formal union elections. Employee advocates indicate this could undercut conflicts such as captive audience meetings, used to deter union-related elections.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Abruzzo\u2019s first memo laid out <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>priorities for her NLRB<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, mainly re-examining the legality of employer handbook rules, religious institution jurisdiction and confidentiality clauses in separation agreements. Additionally, Abruzzo\u2019s memo mentioned re-defining protected concerted activity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Her 2023 update confirmed her belief that the previous iteration of NLRB had overturned a pre-existing \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>appropriate balance between the rights of workers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> and the obligations of unions and employers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the future participation of Gwynne Wilcox, a current Democratic board member, hangs in the balance. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Wilcox\u2019s NLRB term ends<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> Aug. 27, as listed on <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>her board page<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, and the Senate has failed to vote on her renomination prior to Congress\u2019 summer recess. Abruzzo\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>pro-union stance has been called \u201caggressive\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> by some employment law practitioners and as election season gears up, the political makeup of the board could soon evolve.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n