The Tamesis
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that protects the rights of private employees, has accused construction company Snøhetta of unlawfully firing employees who supported the 2023 union drive, according to the NLRB. new york times.
The company fired eight employees for participating in collective actions “to prevent employees from participating in these activities,” according to a complaint released Friday by the National Labor Relations Board. It also said the company “interrogated” employees about their union feelings and activities. Employees have the right to privacy, and secret ballots are used for union elections. era pointed out. Workers tried to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The newspaper said tensions arose after employees sought voluntary recognition from management in 2023 and applied for union elections in May.
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“All decisions regarding layoffs are driven by business considerations that begin long before the union effort,” said Elaine Molinar, a partner at the firm. era in an email. Molinar claimed the company didn’t know what employees’ preferences were “in most cases,” the newspaper said.
Snøhetta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Former employees told Snøhetta that Snøhetta originated in Norway and had a strong reputation. erabecause “progressive and worker-friendly.” But managers reportedly told employees that unions would have a negative impact on company culture and profits. Employees told the newspaper that management discussed the union with workers “apparently to understand their voting intentions”; the NLRB complaint makes the same claim.
The union lost the vote 35-29, and just weeks later management held a meeting to announce the company’s financial downturn and the possibility of layoffs. era. The following week, eight employees, all union supporters, were fired.
Internal emails mistakenly shared with employees reportedly appeared to indicate the layoffs were retaliatory. A group of managers keeps a list of employees characterized by their union leanings. “Seven of the laid-off employees appear on the list as union supporters,” the agency said. era“The eighth was listed as undecided.” Subsequent emails discussed impediments to future organizing efforts and demonstrated a lack of trust in “unionists” in a position within the company. Molinar told era The employees in question were not even considered for redundancy.
Molinar noted that the union was not seeking to overturn the vote on the grounds of illegal company conduct, but a union lawyer told the newspaper that the union had no evidence of illegal conduct before the deadline to challenge the election. Attorney William Haller told the NLRB that he had “never seen such clear evidence of blatant anti-union animus,” according to the NLRB. era.
If a settlement cannot be reached, the case will be brought before a Labor Board judge.
Architects say they often work long hours for little pay compared with similarly qualified professionals. erain exchange for the promise of prestige, adding that those opposed to unions claim that non-union companies will charge less based on the company’s lower pay, thereby undercutting those with unions.
Snøhetta works in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture and product design. It has studios in Oslo, Norway; New York; Innsbruck, Austria; Paris, France; Hong Kong; Shenzhen, China; and Melbourne, Australia. According to its website, Snøhetta’s first major commission was for the Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1989, with subsequent major commissions including the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo and the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York.
The company touts its “horizontal organizational structure” and non-hierarchical office layout. It has won numerous awards, including the Aga Khan Architecture Prize for the Library of Alexandria and the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Prize for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo. In 2016, Snøhetta was named wall street journal magazineArchitectural Innovator of the Year.
