The NLRB Research Database Is Now Available to the Public

Labor Law For All https://nlrbresearch.com/NLRB/NLRB_DB Through its decisions and rulemakings, the National Labor Relations Board creates the labor law that governs unionization and worker rights in the private sector. But this law is impossible to access for most people. The NLRB releases its decisions, memos, and other legal documents on its website, but not in a way that is conducive to fast and effective research. Commercial legal research services like Westlaw and Lexis organize some of these NLRB documents into their databases, but these services charge users thousands of dollars per year. The NLRB Research database is a collection of all of the legal documents released by the NLRB on its website. It includes: Supreme Court Decisions Published and Unpublished Board Decisions Administrative Law Judge Decisions Appellate Briefs General Counsel and Advice Memos Agency Manuals The database stays up to date by automatically downloading any new documents released on the NLRB website. At present, the database has over 90,000 documents in it, with that number increasing every week. Users can find specific documents by searching for dates, names, case numbers, and legal citations. They can also do a text search that will locate all of the documents that contain certain words or phrases. The search engine handles complex query logic and is lightning fast, with most searches completing in less than 0.1 seconds. The ability to search all of these documents at the same time is valuable and is not possible in any other legal research service, including Westlaw and Lexis. A user looking for guidance on a specific topic might find that their search matches a Supreme Court decision, a dozen NLRB decisions, a couple of advice memos, and the casehandling manual – all from a single query. The database contains the full text of each document as well as an AI-generated summary of each document. When it comes to labor law, NLRB Research should be of value to legal professionals and academics as well as rank-and-file workers and union representatives. The latter group, union representatives, should find it especially useful as their job often requires them to confront legal issues without having access to any legal research resources. Who Made This NLRB Research was created by Matt Bruenig, a labor lawyer and public policy expert. Bruenig wrote all of the code that populates the database and built this website using Simon Willison’s datasette software. Bruenig has been a practicing labor lawyer since 2014 and has worked for the Machinists Union, the Service Employees International Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the United Auto Workers, and the National Labor Relations Board. He is most well known for founding the People's Policy Project. Bruenig currently runs the NLRB Edge newsletter where he covers legal developments at the NLRB and represents individuals and unions at the NLRB. Contact him at matt@nlrbedge.com.

Organize Your Library! Developing the Collective Power of Library Workers

Organize Your Library! Developing the Collective Power of Library Workers Authors: Angelo Moreno, Kelly McElroy, Meredith Kahn, Emily Drabinski Speaking directly to library workers, this book demonstrates the power and fulfillment that comes from actively participating in shaping both the conditions under which they labor and the conditions that govern the library itself. Interest in unions and the real, day-to-day benefits they secure for employees is on the rise—including among library workers, who are beginning to realize that on their own they have little leverage. But with a union they have the power of numbers, and their working conditions are decided by a collectively negotiated agreement rather than by the malleable judgement of an individual administrator or library board. This handbook will equip readers with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary for organizing and maintaining a union at their library. Peppered throughout by illuminating stories from successful library union leaders and members, this book discusses why library workers need unions and explores some of the benefits that a collective bargaining agreement can assure, such as job security, increased salaries, codification of the rules for overtime pay and time off, and protection from harassment by patrons; explains why a contract won't limit employees' autonomy; walks readers through how to launch a union drive, including the basics of talking with co-workers, combating apathy and fear, and running a campaign; offers an overview of the steps involved in building a new union, from forming an organizing committee to getting recognition and setting up a governance structure; sketches out the key issues relating to contracts, the details of bargaining and negotiation, and arbitration; lays out approaches and strategies for dealing with supervisors and administrators in the context of your union work, including effective communication between labor and management, contract enforcement, and handling bad behavior such as unfair labor practices and retaliation; gives advice on pursuing changes in your workplace in a right-to-work state; explores the constructive roles that bosses can play to support the union efforts of the workers who organize them; and provides an Action Plan at the end of each chapter with suggested readings, questions for reflection, and activities designed to help deepen your knowledge, broaden your network, and practice important skills.

Miami University Librarians Unionize

After losing a hearing and being removed from a faculty union's bargaining unit during a union certification drive, librarians used their signed union authorization cards to file for and win a union authorization vote Learn more from the Journal of Radical Librarianship.

Cuyahoga County Library Employees Picket,

 Dozens of librarians recently took to the sidewalks to protest what they claim are unfair wage compensation from management at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

The Services Employees International Union, the body that represents some 450 unionized library staff across the county's system, had been in new contract negotiations with CCPL's attorneys since January. Read more from Clevescene here

Franklin County Schools Move Forward with the Decision to Get Rid of Librarians

 Despite valiant pleas by educators and librarians alike, the superintendent of Franklin County Schools said the decision to remove librarians from libraries is final, pending approval from the county commissioners read more from Spectrum Local News here

Advocates rally for the restoration of Queens Library Funding

 Queens officials and library advocates rallied in Forest Hills last week to call for the full restoration of funding for the Queens Public Library after the mayor in his most recent budget proposal made a number of cuts to the city’s libraries.

Under Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed budget, the city’s public library systems would face $58.3 million worth of cuts, which the systems say would severely limit resources and services. Read more from the Queens Daily Eagle here.

Fourth Public Library to Unionize in Central Ohio

 The staff of Upper Arlington Public Library has officially voted to form a union, despite several videos by the library's director to assure staff that not much will change. Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here.