Maintaining the Status Quo:
Notes from the NLRB
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adheres to the "status quo" doctrine for the period during which the parties are negotiating an initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The rule is that the employer must not deviate from the status quo – what the practices and terms of employment were before union certification – without first bargaining with the union.
INSURANCE
If an employer historically has increased employee costs each plan year, then their right to annually increase employee costs would likely be considered part of the status quo. Of course, if the increases are dramatically different than in the past, that might raise another question. If the employer historically did not increase employee costs each plan year, or if employees always had certain plan provisions (such as no copay), the status quo requires that these practices remain the same.
DISCIPLINE
Under current NLRB rules, there is no statutory right to bargain about discipline during the period the parties are negotiating their first contract. (That was eliminated by the Trump-appointed NLRB in 2020.) Depending on the facts, there could potentially be a status quo violation if there was a policy or practice historically followed on discipline that was no longer being followed.
If we could show that the past practice was, for example, to issue written warnings before firing someone, or if there had been a similar instance in the past without a discharge, we might have a status quo violation. If so, we could also demand to bargain over the termination and then file a charge over both with the NLRB.
RAISES & PAY INCREASES
If the history before unionization is that employees always, year after year, received a salary increase on their anniversary date (steps) or some other scheduled date (for example the League contract date), the employer must follow that practice while bargaining.
If an employer historically has increased employee costs each plan year, then their right to annually increase employee costs would likely be considered part of the status quo. Of course, if the increases are dramatically different than in the past, that might raise another question. If the employer historically did not increase employee costs each plan year, or if employees always had certain plan provisions (such as no copay), the status quo requires that these practices remain the same.
DISCIPLINE
Under current NLRB rules, there is no statutory right to bargain about discipline during the period the parties are negotiating their first contract. (That was eliminated by the Trump-appointed NLRB in 2020.) Depending on the facts, there could potentially be a status quo violation if there was a policy or practice historically followed on discipline that was no longer being followed.
If we could show that the past practice was, for example, to issue written warnings before firing someone, or if there had been a similar instance in the past without a discharge, we might have a status quo violation. If so, we could also demand to bargain over the termination and then file a charge over both with the NLRB.
RAISES & PAY INCREASES
If the history before unionization is that employees always, year after year, received a salary increase on their anniversary date (steps) or some other scheduled date (for example the League contract date), the employer must follow that practice while bargaining.
We are the In House Staff of 1199SEIU UHWE.
We work across the eastern seaboard, from Massachusetts to Florida.
We are voting to become members of the Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG)
Local 32035, The NewsGuild-CWA, AFL-CIO.
To learn more about our union representative, visit: https://wbng.org/.
We work across the eastern seaboard, from Massachusetts to Florida.
We are voting to become members of the Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG)
Local 32035, The NewsGuild-CWA, AFL-CIO.
To learn more about our union representative, visit: https://wbng.org/.
