NLRB memo promises bumpy ride for employers

(AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

After a personal roller coaster ride two years ago when the courts ruled invalid President Obama’s recess appointment of Richard F. Griffin to a seat on the National Labor Relations Board, Griffin is now firmly buckled in, this time as NLRB General Counsel – a ride that will last the next four years.

Employers along for that ride should expect a bumpy one, as Seattle-based Pacific Publishing Co. found out the hard way. A publisher of community newspapers, the company ended contract negotiations with the Teamsters after a majority of union members cut ties with the local. The Teamsters filed a complaint with the Seattle NLRB office, which ruled Pacific Publishing did nothing wrong, and dismissed the case.