Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR—UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES—NLRB: USPS cannot prohibit labor postings on community bulletin boards, (Jun 17, 2026)

By Todd Harrison, J.D.

Solicitation directly relates to employee decisions regarding union representation, and that right cannot be bargained away by the CBA’s incorporation of a solicitation rule.

A three-member panel of the NLRB affirmed an administrative law judge’s finding that a U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution center in Virginia violated Section 7 and 8(a)(1) of the NLRA when it enforced a policy prohibiting workers from distributing literature and petitions via the facility’s community bulletin boards. An employee had posted a cartoon along with a list of safety concerns at the facility that was subsequently removed and was directed to cease and desist posting any similar literature as doing so violated a solicitation rule agreed to by the union in its CBA. The Board agreed with the ALJ’s determination that in preventing the employee from engaging in concerted protected activity, the USPS had infringed on protected speech in violation of the Act (United States Postal Service, 374 N.L.R.B. No. 132 (June 11, 2026)).

Bulletin board postings. A long-time motor vehicle operator at the USPS facility posted two flyers on a breakroom bulletin board calling out perceived safety issues at the facility. Within a day or two, the flyers were removed. The employee reposted the flyers on a community bulletin board, and they were again removed.

Meeting. Shortly thereafter, the employee was called into a meeting with the transportation manager. The transportation manager told the employee he was not allowed to post the flyers as doing so violated a solicitation rule. Although the employee was not explicitly threatened with discipline over the issue, the CBA specifically mentions insubordination as a potential source of discipline for violating the solicitation rule. The employee refrained from reposting the flyers but reached out to higher-ups in an attempt to address the perceived safety issues.

Subsequently, this action was filed alleging USPS had violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by: (1) maintaining a solicitation rule that prohibited employees from “collecting signatures on petitions, polls, or surveys” on its property; and (2) prohibiting an employee from posting materials, which related to employees’ terms and conditions of employment, on its bulletin board.

Jurisdiction. First, USPS argued that Board lacked jurisdiction in this matter, contending that it lacked the regulatory authority to rule on the propriety of USPS’s regulatory activities because it is an independent branch of the U.S. government.

Rejecting this argument, the ALJ explained that Section 1209(a) of the Postal Reorganization Act brought USPS’s labor relations within the same structure that exists for private sector employers and employees, and thus the Board had jurisdiction.

CBA waiver? Next, USPS argued that the union waived any objections by represented employees to the solicitation rule by agreeing to incorporate it into the CBA. This argument was also found to be lacking in merit. A union may bargain away its members’ economic rights, but it may not surrender rights impairing employees’ choice of their bargaining representative. Moreover, a union cannot waive the statutory rights of individual employees to engage in activities pertaining to decisions regarding union representation. Solicitation directly relates to employee decisions regarding union representation, and that right cannot be bargained away.

Accordingly, the solicitation rule was both outside the ambit of the CBA and was unlawful. The employees’ Section 7 rights were not “clearly and unmistakably” waived by the union. Even if they were, such a waiver would unlawfully impact employees’ statutory right to solicit representation or, as relevant here, to solicit the support of coworkers in addressing safety issues in the workplace.

Overly broad. Turning to the allegation that the solicitation rule violated Section 8(a)(1) by prohibiting employees from “collecting signatures on petitions, polls, or surveys” on its property, USPS argued that the rule was facially neutral, an assertion the ALJ found to be “barely true.” Here, the employee reasonably interpreted the rule to prohibit Section 7 activity because his manager applied the rule to restrict such conduct.

Although complying with laws and government regulations and safely conducting business on its property are legitimate and substantial business interests, the solicitation rule was overly broad and susceptible to infringement on Section 7 activity, especially during nonwork time. Further, the USPS failed to show that it was unable to advance those interests with a more narrowly tailored rule, thus violating Section 8(a)(1).

Protected concerted activity. Finally, the employee’s conduct was in line with USPS’s safety procedures, which permit employees to discuss safety with each other before filing complaints through Form 1767 or OSHA. The employee had also engaged in protected concerted activity when he posted the flyers. Moreover, even though USPS did not previously control what was posted on the bulletin board, its restriction on the employee’s right to post flyers about employee safety issues on the board, while permitting nonwork materials to remain, was discriminatory.

By preventing the employee from engaging in protected activity by placing flyers about workplace safety issues on the community bulletin board, USPS infringed on protected speech in violation of Section 8(a)(1).

Remedies. Agreeing with the ALJ’s requirement that USPS immediately revise or rescind the unlawful portion of the solicitation rule and advise employees in writing that it has done so, the Board also agreed that because USPS maintained the policy nationwide, its notice should be distributed nationwide to employees who work at all USPS facilities throughout the U.S.

The slip opinion is 374 NLRB No. 132.

Attorneys: Dallas G. Kingsbury, U.S.P.S. Law Department, for United States Postal Service.

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