Catherwood LibraryILR School

Following the NLRB’s recent historic ruling that “mixed bargaining units” are permissible, there has been much debate over how this decision will be practically implemented and whether it will have the positive effects the majority of the Board claims it will. While the Board aimed to strengthen unions by making it impossible for employers to claim that jointly-employed and temporary workers should not be included in bargaining units with other employees, this ruling could actually further complicate and harm relations between unions and management. The participation of workers who can have radically different relationships with the employer in the same bargaining unit could lead to conflict, with Philip A. Miscimarra, a member of the NLRB, writing in his dissent that this ruling will lead to “greater uncertainty and instability” in negotiations.