Back to the salt mines: not a veiled antiunion threat

President Joe Biden has made clear he intends to be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent initiatives under the direction of General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo are definitely in line with the administration’s pro-union regulatory agenda. Abruzzo has recently targeted what employers may communicate regarding unionization. What does this mean for our “always on” society? At what point does an employer’s personal satirical post become an illegal and actionable “union-busting” threat? A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (whose decision apply to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) has some silver linings for employers—first and foremost, a finding that not all employer communications referencing unions are actionable.

You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to

Ben Domenech, executive officer of FDRLST Media, LLC, a Delaware limited liability corporation and operator of an online magazine known as The Federalist, posted an anti-union message on his personal Twitter account. The June 6, 2019, tweet read:

FYI @fdrlst first one of you tries to unionize
I swear I’ll send you back to the salt mine