Law, Business, and Society 9th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 4

Suzi Prozanski, a union president and an employee of the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard, sent three union-related messages on the company e-mail system. She was warned her use of the company system to send those messages violated the company's communications policy. The e-mail dispute ultimately reached the National Labor Relations Board in 2007 where, by a 3-2 vote, the board ruled that an employer has a basic right to restrict employee use of company property. The ruling provided that restrictions on union messages on the company e-mail system are lawful so long as employers also barred employees from sending e-mail for "non-job related solicitations" for outside organizations generally. Personal, non-work-related postings (e.g., wedding announcements) remained permissible under company policy. Historically, the board had ruled that employers were engaging in discrimination if they permitted personal messages on bulletin boards and telephones, but did not permit union messages. The NLRB decision in the Register-Guard situation was one of several in 2006 and 2007 (some of which were explained earlier in this chapter) that changed the direction of labor law in ways that significantly weakened union rights.
a. In your judgment, did the NLRB rule correctly in the Register-Guard dispute Explain.
b. In light of the Register-Guard decision and others favoring employer interests, do you think the NLRB has unwisely shifted the balance of labor-management power Explain. See Register-Guard, 351 NLRB No. 70 (December 16, 2007).