Ruling allows unions to hang protest bannersWASHINGTON -- Labor unions won expanded rights to hang protest banners outside businesses, the National Labor Relations Board decided in a vote along party lines, Bloomberg News reported. The NLRB in a 3-2 decision made it legal for unions to set up banners outside a company's suppliers or customers, according to a board statement today. The issue has been followed by employers and labor lawyers as a signal the board may broaden the influence of unions."Effective immediately, unions are in charge," said John Raudabaugh of Nixon Peabody LLP, a labor board member during the administration of President George H.W. Bush from 1990 to 1993.The decision upheld the rights of Arizona unionized carpenters to display 16-foot banners near two medical centers and a restaurant to protest work being done at the businesses by construction contractors the union said paid substandard wages and benefits. Two banners read "SHAME" while a third urged customers not to eat at the restaurant.The ruling is a "sane interpretation" of labor law, said Bill Lurye, associate general counsel of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation. "It vindicates unions' First Amendment rights to publicize a labor dispute and puts the Labor Board squarely in the mainstream."The board's three Democrats supported the decision, and two Republicans were opposed. A related issue pending at the NLRB is whether unions can legally erect giant inflatable rats, popular paraphernalia in union protests, outside a company.(The preceding article by Holly Rosenkrantz was published September 2, 2010, by Bloomberg News.) September 3, 2010
