Labor Law -- 2016



Constellation Brands US Operations, Inc. v. NLRB   (2nd Circuit)

Standard for determining bargaining units

The NAM filed an amicus brief supporting Constellation Brands in a collective bargaining dispute stemming from the application of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new Specialty Healthcare doctrine. The NLRB determined that 46 winemaking cellar employees within a completely integrated production facility constituted an appropriate bargaining unit because they were “readily identifiable as a group” that “shared a community of interest.” This litigation is important to manufacturers because under the new standard, employers would have multiple bargaining agreements that make it difficult to address employee concerns and halt operations until those concerns are addressed. The NAM’s brief argued that 1) the NLRB wrongly decided Specialty Healthcare, which should be overruled because the Specialty Healthcare rule grants too much deference to the union’s proposed unit; 2) Specialty Healthcare represents a radical departure from the NRLB’s longstanding precedent and encourages a multiplicity of fractured units within workplaces throughout the country; and 3) in deciding Specialty Healthcare the NLRB violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Although the court upheld the Specialty Healthcare standard, it found the regional director did not apply the standard correctly.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (December 16, 2015)