Circuit Watcher

06-1358, 07-1060, 07-1087 United Food & Commercial Workers, AFL-CIO v. NLRB
Before: TATEL, BROWN and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.
KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judge: This case illustrates some of the collective bargaining complications that ensue when technological developments diminish the need for skilled manual labor. Workers in the meat department at the Wal-Mart in Jacksonville, Texas, elected Local 540 as their bargaining representative. At the time, those workers used specialized meat-cutting skills. Wal-Mart later announced its intention to convert meat departments around the country from selling meat that was cut on site to selling pre-packaged meat. In the wake of the announcement, the Jacksonville Wal-Mart changed its meat department so that it sells only pre-packaged meat. Because the Jacksonville meat department workers no longer use specialized cutting skills, the NLRB found that the meat department had become an inappropriate bargaining unit. As a result, the Board concluded that Wal-Mart has no general duty to bargain with the Union representing the meat-department employees. But according to the Board, Wal-Mart nonetheless must bargain with the Union over the effects of the conversion on the Jacksonville meat-department employees. … United Food & Commercial Workers, AFL-CIO v. NLRB.