The Board may order a variety of remedies, including requiring the firm to reinstate unlawfully fired workers or restore wages and benefits to the bargaining unit. II.4.) Nearly 1,000 Individual Workers Directly Affected by Violations and Remedies

Nearly 1,000 individual workers and thousands of additional workers represented in 12 bargaining units were directly affected by violations of the act in these 88 cases. II.6.) We considered a remedy to be comprehensive if the firm received a broad cease and desist order or a Gissel bargaining order, or was ordered to cease and desist 10 or more types of unlawful actions against workers. Took actions affecting the job status of more than 20 workers. Had a history of labor law violations. NLRB’s enforcement of the act could be enhanced by collecting judgments against violators from federal contract awards. More specifically, we were asked to identify characteristics associated with (1) these federal contractors and (2) their NLRA violations. In addition, we were asked to identify ways to improve compliance of federal contractors with NLRA. Figure II.5: Percent of Contract Dollars to Federal Contractors That Violated NLRA Compared With All Federal Contractors, by Agency (Fiscal Year 1993)

Key Federal Contract and Violation Information for All 80 Firms With Labor Violations

This appendix provides information on the 80 firms that have both NLRA violations and federal contracts. directed, controlled, circulated, and assisted in the circulation of a promised workers wage increases, bonuses, and other benefits if the workers would decertify the union; threatened workers with the loss of wage increases, bonuses, and other benefits if the workers did not decertify the union; while engaged in the training of new workers, told these workers that the union could do no more for them than the employer and thus discouraged support for the union and encouraged bypassing the union and dealing directly with the company; surveyed and interrogated workers concerning their union sympathies and preferences by observing them as they were solicited by employer’s agent for their signatures on a decertification petition; failed and refused to bargain with the union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of its workers in the above-noted unit; withdrew recognition of the union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of its workers; unilaterally implemented the following changes in wages and working conditions: instituting a performance bonus of between 2 and 3-1/2 percent; implementing a wage increase; and increasing shift premiums; unilaterally implemented a new attendance policy and a new service award and attendance award program; refused to furnish the union with information which it requested; and interfered with workers discussing union business on nonwork time in nonwork areas.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the extent to which federal contractors violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), focusing on: (1) the characteristics associated with these NLRA violators; and (2) ways to improve federal contractors' compliance with NLRA.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) in 1993, six firms held 90 percent of the federal contracts awarded to NLRA violators; (2) the cases brought to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mainly involved workers' rights, collective bargaining, and discrimination violations; (3) NLRB remedies mainly included the reinstatement of unlawfully fired workers, restoration of workers' job status, payment of back wages or benefits, collective bargaining orders, and orders to cease threatening workers with job loss; (4) the NLRB remedies affected nearly 1,000 individual workers and thousands of additional workers represented by 12 bargaining units; (5) most of the NLRA violators were Departments of Defense and Energy contractors; (6) 15 of the 80 violators had to reinstate or restore more than 20 individuals each, NLRB cease and desist orders issued against them, or a history of NLRA violations; and (7) NLRB could enhance its enforcement of NLRA by collecting judgments against violators from their federal contract awards and increasing coordination with the General Services Administration (GSA) to identify such violators.