Friday, December 16, 2016

New charges filed with NLRB against Lionbridge and Microsoft for Unfair Labor Practices and Joint Employment

On December 13, 2016, TWA filed charges with NLRB against Lionbridge and Microsoft for Unfair Labor Practices (bargaining in bad faith) and anti-union (retaliation) and again joint employment. Mentioned is the runaway shop doctrine where a company closes a site to move the work to non-unionized places.
References: Microsoft Corporation Case 19-CA-189881
Microsoft Corporation Case 19-CA-189865
Lionbridge Case 19-CA 189865, 189868

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Does the closure of the lab in Bellevue and its relocation out of the US constitute a "Runaway Shop' ?

From the start we have been suspicious about the way Lionbridge and Microsoft decided to close the lab in Bellevue, lay off all its employees and relocate the work in labs out of the US (in Warsaw and Beijing). This decision came hardly two months after a collective bargaining agreement had been signed that included the union abandoning its charge against Microsoft for joint employment.

Lionbridge Technologies to be acquired by HIG Capital

See the press release here.