Truesdale's term as chair of the NLRB lasted just over two years, and during that time the board neither overturned much precedent nor generated new doctrine. However, in late February 200, the Board did decertify the Major League Umpires Association and certified the World Umpires Association as the new union for umpires in Major League Baseball. Truesdale wrote the three-paragraph opinion certifying the new union.Blum, Ronald. "NLRB Certifies New BB Umps Union." Associated Press. February 24, 2000. The Board also issued two important rulings in October and November 2000. The first, New York University, 332 NLRB 1205 (2000), found that graduate student teaching and research assistants at private colleges and universities were employees as defined by the NLRA. Truesdale convinced Republican Member Peter J. Hurtgen to join himself and Member Wilma B. Liebman in relying on Boston Medical Center, 330 NLRB 152 (1999) (which reversed precedent and found medical interns and residents to be employees) to find the graduate students to be employees.Arenson, Karen W. "U.S. Allows Unions of Postgraduates." New York Times. November 2, 2000.There is ongoing debate by the Board over this issue. In Brown University, 342 NLRB 42 (2004), Member Liebman reversed herself and joined a unanimous Board in overturning New York University and returning to the Board's previous precedent. In June 2011, NLRB Region 2's acting director denied a new election for graduate students at New York University. But in doing so, the decision strongly criticized Brown University as wrongly decided, laid out a factual record that would support the ruling in New York University, and concluded that the dual role of student and employee was not incompatible with the NLRA. The graduate students at New York University said they will appeal to the full NLRB. See: Greenhouse, Steven and Arenson, Karen W. "Labor Board Says Graduate Students at Private Universities Have No Right to Unionize." New York Times. July 16, 2004; Greenhouse, Steven. "N.Y.U. Teaching Assistants' Unionization Hopes Get a Boost." New York Times. June 20, 2011. Accessed 2011-07-28; Berrett, Dan. "A Debate Reopened." Inside Higher Ed. June 21, 2011. Accessed 2011-07-28; Schmidt, Peter. "NLRB Official's Ruling Bolsters Drive to Unionize NYU Teaching Assistants." Chronicle of Higher Education. June 20, 2011. Accessed 2011-07-28. The same day, in NYP Acquisition Corp., 332 NLRB 1041 (2000), Truesdale convinced Member Sarah Fox to join himself and Hurtgen in significantly modifying the board's successorship rulings. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation bought the New York Post in 1976."News Corp: Historical Overview". The Hollywood Reporter. November 14, 2005. When News Corp. purchased a New York City television station in 1988, federal regulators required Murdoch to sell the Post.Bianco, Anthony. "The New York Post: Profitless Paper in Relentless Pursuit." Business Week. February 21, 2005. The new publisher went bankrupt in 1991,Hylton, Richard D. "Bankruptcy Protection Is Sought by Kalikow." New York Times. August 21, 1991. and News Corp. purchased the paper again in 1993.News Corp. was able to buy the Post because numerous politicians persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to grant Murdoch a permanent waiver from the rules that had forced him to sell the paper five years earlier. See: Andrews, Edmund L. "Murdoch Gets Waiver From the F.C.C. to Buy the New York Post." New York Times. June 30, 1993. The New York Post subsequently laid off large numbers of union workers.Glaberson, William. "After His F.C.C. Victory, Murdoch Battles Unions." New York Times. July 2, 1993; Glaberson, William. "Murdoch Closes New York Post, Citing a Failure of Labor Talks." New York Times. July 10, 1993; Glaberson, William. "Newspaper Guild Once Again Finds Itself Left Out." New York Times. July 14, 1993. With the NLRB only at three members due to resignations and delayed confirmations, Truesdale and Hurtgen joined to alter the board's successorship test by concluding that the subsidiary News Corp. used to buy the paper in 1993 was sufficiently different from the 1976 News Corp. subsidiary and with sufficiently different goals that it did not trigger the board's successorship duty-to-bargain requirements.Greenhouse, Steven. "Labor Board Rules for Post Owner on '93 Layoffs." New York Times. November 3, 2000.
