| Does an employee have E-mail communication rights in the workplace when it comes to efforts to organize a union? According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the answer is “No.”
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining without interference from employers. In addition, NLRA gives employees the right to engage in union activity without interference from employers and establishes a mechanism for recognizing unions as employees’ bargaining representatives. Under this act, there are basic rights guaranteed to the employee. They include organizing, forming, joining or assisting labor organizations, bargaining collectively through chosen representative and engaging in strikes and picketing.
However, the NLRB ruled in a recent case that employees could be prohibited from using the employer’s E-mail system to communicate union organizing business. In fact, the NLRB took the position that en employer may restrict the use of E-mail communications, telephones, and bulletin boards to employees wanting to organize, because the activity is not job related and it is being conducted using equipment owned by the company. However, employers must be sure to extend the restrictions to all non-job related activities, and not single out any particular group, in this case the union organizers. What employees are able to do is talk about organizing on their own time (e.g., breaks, lunch) at the workplace.
Interestingly, in the same case the NLRB found that the employer could use its communication systems to send messages against the forming of unions. It is about property rights; since the employer owns the property, the employer has the right to communicate its wishes and intent, but the employee does not have that same right. The NLRB has identified what it considers to be unfair labor practices on the part of the employer. They include:
- Interfering with the employees’ right to self organize.
- Dominating the formation and administration of any labor organization or contributing financial or other support.
- Discriminating against employees to encourage or discourage union membership.
- Retaliating against an employee for filing unfair labor practice charges or giving testimony under NLRA.
- Refusing to bargain in good faith regarding wages, hours, or working conditions.
It is important for employers to make clear that organizing is an employees’ right, but that the company has certain rights as well, and that one of them is the right to control the communications via its own communication systems.
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