Catherwood LibraryILR School

A U.S. Appeals court in Washington upheld a National labor Relations Board decision granting non-unionized employees the right to bring a co-worker sympathetic to their cause to all disciplinary meetings, and holding a Cleveland employer's refusal to allow an employee to do this an unfair labor practice. While right of unionized employees have had the right to have a union representative or shop steward present at all disciplinary hearings since 1975, the NLRB has reversed its stance several times on whether non-union employees have a similar right---ruling most recently in 1985 that they do not. Although the AFL-CIO and such management groups as the Labor Policy Association filed briefs in this case and had strong opinions either for or against the ruling, some academics feel that the ruling will not have a major impact.