Labor Board Says General Dynamics Unit Improperly Thwarted Union

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg


By Josh Eidelson
February 8, 2018, 1:59 PM CST

A General Dynamics Corp. subsidiary violated federal labor law by threatening employees in order to discourage unionization, according to a complaint issued by an acting regional director of the National Labor Relations Board.

The complaint was dated Jan. 30 against General Dynamics Information Technology, which provides call center services to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Since 2016, the Communications Workers of America union has been organizing employees working on that contract at an office in Alexandria, Virginia. A program manager for the company last summer illegally threatened workers if they formed a union, according to the complaint.


Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-08/labor-board-says-general-dynamics-unit-improperly-thwarted-union

[elleng]

1. according to a complaint issued by an acting regional director of the National Labor Relations Board

The complaint was dated Jan. 30 against General Dynamics Information Technology, which provides call center services to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

In a statement, the company said it takes seriously its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act. "As with any notice received, we will engage with the relevant parties, including our employees and the Department of Labor," it said.

"Our call center employees are not represented by the Communications Workers of America and it is not empowered to act on behalf of our call center employees," the company said. "We value our people and the work that they perform."

The union has also filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor alleging that General Dynamics has violated the Service Contract Act at its call centers by classifying workers incorrectly in order to avoid paying them the appropriate prevailing wage. CWA claims that more than $100 million in back pay to ten of thousands of current and former employees could be owed.

Under President Barack Obama, the Labor Department issued regulations that would have required more disclosure by contractors of alleged labor and employment law violations, and disqualified some companies from getting contracts. That regulation was largely blocked by a federal judge last fall and then voided in March by the Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump.'