UNFAIR PRACTICE ISSUES; PROTECTED ACTIVITIES – Demands for Change in Working Conditions

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Unity break, which consisted of employees displaying signs relating to ongoing contract negotiations at workstations during their break, is not protected activity because other employees were working in the same area at the time. Employees have a protected right to communicate with each other at the worksite concerning the terms and conditions of employment during nonwork time in nonwork areas. If those activities do not occur during nonwork time in nonwork areas, the employer must be given leeway to restrict those activities in order to maintain order, production or discipline. Memorandum which prohibits employees from engaging in job actions "during state time or inside the building" is ambiguous and overbroad because it appears to prohibit communication among employees during nonwork times and/or in nonwork areas. When the state issued such a memorandum in violated the Dills Act.