Electromation v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Analytic Framework for NLRB Interpretation of Unlawful Employer Domination of Nonunion Employee Participation Programs

Abstract

In a recent decision, the NLRB has created a framework for legal analysis of unlawful employer domination allegations which threatens many employee participation or empowerment programs in nonunion places of employment. A marked incompatibility in the application of the 58 year old National Labor Relations Act and current accepted management practices has been noted. The most likely solution to this apparent dilemma in labor-management relations appears to be statutory reform of the labor code. On December 16, 1992, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision likely to have profound consequences for many employee participation programs (EPP) nationwide. In its Electromation, Inc. v. International Brother­ hood of Teamsters ruling [1], the NLRB upheld the decision of Administrative Law Judge George F. Mclnerny that the company's employee "action com­ mittees" were "labor organizations" within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) [2]. The administrative law judge had further held that these "labor organizations" (the aforementioned action committees) were unlaw­ fully dominated by the employer in violation of § 8(a)(2) of the NLRA. In affirming the decision of the administrative law judge, the NLRB was scrupulous