The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") decided earlier this month that unions may "endorse" the boycott, divest and sanction ("BDS") campaign against Israel without running afoul of the National Labor Relations Act's (the "Act") ban on so-called "secondary boycotts." But the case did not affirm that unions actually could engage in the boycott, since that issue was not before the Board.
Nonetheless, some people inaccurately are spinning the decision as the NLRB giving BDS a green light.
The issue arose when the the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (the "Union") passed a resolution endorsing BDS in August, 2015. The Union is self-consciously radical - its
website calls for "aggressive struggle," blames "bosses and bankers," and promises that it is "Fighting for Workers' Rights in the New World Order." In addition to a slew of posts about BDS and "build[ing] solidarity" with Palestinians, the Union's
Political Action update opposes the TransPacific Partnership, defends Venezuela's farcical "democracy" and effectively
endorses Bernie Sanders: