Wilma Liebman quietly left her post as chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when her term expired in late August. Her low-key departure stood in contrast to the fireworks she set off as chairman of a board decried by business interests as tilted toward unions. And she left in her wake three new decisions long-sought by unions, including one that some call the most important NLRB ruling of the past decade.
That Aug. 26 decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile is expected to permit unions to organize small groups of workers within a single job category across a wide range of industries. For unions, smaller units are much easier to organize, particularly if they can cherry-pick a work group that is upset with its supervisor.
