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Proposed NLRB rule change draws wide support
WASHINGTON. D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) is proposing amendments that will change union election
rules and regulations to streamline pre- and post- election proce-
dures.
The most significant reforms proposed include allowing the use
of electronic filing for election-related documents, standardizing
election timeframes, consolidating the appeals process, and defer-
ring litigation over voter eligibility issues until after the election —
exactly the same as elections for political office. Collectively, the
new rules are a step toward making it more difficult for employers
to intentionally slow down union elections.
The chair of the NLRB, Wilma Liebman, indicated that the change
“will result in rules that are simpler, that are clearer, and that come
closer to achieving the aim of the National Labor Relations Act: mak-
ing sure that employees are free to choose whether or not they want to
be represented at work, in a quick, fair, and accurate way.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the proposed changes
are a “modest step to remove roadblocks and reduce unnecessary
and costly litigation — and that’s good news for employers as well
as employees.”
Trumka described the proposal as a “common sense approach
to clean up an outdated system and help ensure that working women
and men can make their own choice about whether to form a union.”
He expects, however, that given the “poisonous political environ-
ment,” there will be a torrent of attacks from politicians and ideo-
logues opposed to any protection of workers’ rights.
“Such opposition is pure politics, part of unprecedented attacks
on workers’ rights,” he said. “Whether you’re a teacher, firefighter or
nurse’s aide — right-wing legislators and their corporate funders
have made it clear that their ultimate aim is to take away workers’
rights on the job.”
True to Trumka’s words, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce re-
sponded quickly in opposition, claiming the rules make it too easy
for a workplace to unionize.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) put things in perspective,
however, heralding the proposal as a way to protect the middle class:
“This proposed rule change is about fairness — giving workers up-
dated organizing tools they can use to negotiate good wages and
good benefits. This is particularly important in an economy where
the real median income in America is lower now than it was 10
years ago, and more and more Americans are struggling to make
ends meet.”
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), said: “Workers and
businesses across America deserve to have a fair and modern union
election process, and the NLRB’s common-sense rule proposal will
go a long way toward making that happen. Too many middle-class
families across America have been devastated in this economic cri-
sis, and we owe it to them to make sure they have a fair system in the
workplace that will allow them to make decisions that are right for
them. I’ve seen first-hand that workers and businesses operate most
productively when the rules of the game are clear and fair to all
sides. The NLRB’s proposed rule changes are a strong step in that
direction, and I support them.”
Here are what others had to say about the proposed rule change:
Center for American Progress President John Podesta: “The
same crowd that is trying to take away collective bargaining rights
in the states is opposing a modest improvement to give workers a
fairer, more standardized process for voting to join a union.”
Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice:
“Without this step forward, anti-union employers have too much
power to intimidate workers and stop them from expressing their
voice on the job."
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous: “In a
time where the rights of working families and union members are
under assault, and corporations are using extreme tactics to dis-
courage the formation of unions, the NLRB stood up for the hard
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Former NLRB member Sarah Fox: “For decades, analysts and
commentators have discussed the pervasive problem of delays in
the NLRB election process, both between the filing of a petition
and the actual election, and between the holding of the election and
the certification of results ... These are modest and common sense
reforms that seek to address a serious and long-recognized prob-
lem.”
The proposed changes would:
• Allow for electronic filing of election petitions and other docu-
ments.
• Ensure that employees, employers and unions receive and ex-
change timely information they need to understand and participate
in the representation case process.
• Standardize timeframes for parties to resolve or litigate issues
before and after elections.
• Require parties to identify issues and describe evidence soon af-
ter an election petition is filed to facilitate resolution and eliminate
unnecessary litigation.
• Defer litigation of most voter eligibility issues until after the
election.
• Require employers to provide a final voter list in electronic
form soon after the scheduling of an election, including voters’ tele-
phone numbers and email addresses when available.
• Consolidate all election-related appeals to the Board into a sin-
gle post-election appeals process and thereby eliminate delay in
holding elections currently attributable to the possibility of pre-elec-
tion appeals.
• Make Board review of post-election decisions discretionary
rather than mandatory.
Comments on the proposed rule changes will be accepted for 60
days, and the Board is holding hearings July 18-19 in Washington,
D.C.
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