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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2014)
NLRB to try again to streamline unionization elections peals tossed them out after business seeking to decertify a union. We look groups sued. The judges (a majority ap- forward to further exchange of ideas to pointed by Republican presidents) said improve the processes” to benefit work- the board lacked a quorum at the time ‘Unnecessary delay and inefficiencies the new rules were made. Since then, hurt both employees and employers.’ five members have NLRB C HAIR M ARK G ATSON P EARCE been confirmed to the board, giving it a quorum. “Unnecessary delay and inefficien- ers, firms and the U.S. cies hurt both employees and employ- The NLRB wants to let unions and ers,” Pearce said. “These proposals are businesses send documents, including intended to improve the process for all recognition election petitions, electron- parties, in all cases, whether nonunion ically, streamline pre- and post-election employees are seeking a union to rep- procedures to facilitate agreement and resent them or unionized employees are eliminate unnecessary litigation. It wants to add phone numbers and e-mail addresses to eligible voter lists, called Excelsior lists, that firms must turn over, via the board, to unions filing the required number of signatures. The NLRB also wants to “consoli- date all election-related appeals to the board into a single post-election ap- Two days before a strike was set to begin, the Portland Association of Teachers peals process.” Right now, firms delay announced Feb. 18 (as this edition was going to press) that a “conceptual agree- union recognition elections by filing ment” was reached with Portland Public Schools on a new union contract. challenges to who can vote, when the The deal was reached after more than 23 straight hours of bargaining with a vote can occur and other details. They state mediator — and 10 months after bargaining began. The two sides recon- then take their complaints to the board vened later in the day to iron out details and put it in writing as a tentative agree- and the federal courts. ment that will go to the union’s 2,900 members for ratification. Meantime, employers can stall the Details of the agreement won’t be released before teachers vote on the con- elections and get months — even years tract. — to conduct anti-union campaigns. The NLRB’s proposal would reduce that time. Union leaders applauded the NLRB’s proposal. “The rules were needed then (in 2011), and they are still needed now,” WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — By a 3-2 vote on Feb. 4, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reintroduced a proposed rule to ensure a more streamlined and fairer union election process for workers. The proposals will let the board more effectively administer labor law, said NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce. “The Notice of Proposed Rulemak- ing presents a number of changes to representation case procedures aimed at modernizing processes, enhancing transparency and eliminating unneces- sary litigation and delay,” he said. The NLRB passed similar rules in 2011, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Ap- Teachers strike averted at Portland Public Schools said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “When workers petition for an NLRB election, they should receive a timely opportunity to vote. But the cur- rent NLRB election process is riddled with delay and provides too many op- portunities for employers to manipulate and drag out the process through costly and unnecessary litigation and deny workers a vote. These rules are an im- portant step in the right direction.” The Republican majority on the House Education and the Workforce Committee denounced the ruling, call- ing it “ambush elections.” It said it would haul the NLRB before the com- mittee on March 5. Meanwhile, the NLRB set an April 7 deadline for written comments on the new rules. Additionally, the board will hold public hearings on its proposals that week. ...Fast-track fight (From Page 1) ship in opposing a fast-track bill intro- duced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mon- tana) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Michi- gan) — the so-called Bi-Partisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act; and to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden “for his leadership on the issue.” The Oregon Democrat recently became chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, succeeding Baucus, who was named U.S. ambassador to China. “Rep. DeFazio has spoken out against the bill and is actively working to defeat it. He is really the only Dem to take a clear stand on the TPP, and he is very much against it,” said Elizabeth Swager of the Oregon Fair Trade Cam- paign. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who is up for re- election this year, recently issued a statement on TPA, stating that it “is un- acceptable to have consideration of fast track come to the Senate floor before there has been a full opportunity for a robust public debate and feedback on the goals and scope of these trade deals.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who is seeking to hold the Democrats’ Senate majority in the 2014 elections, told reporters Jan. 29 — a day after President Obama pushed fast track in his State of the Union address — “I’m against fast track.” Reid said he may not bring the fast- track bill up for a vote. “We’ll see,” he said. “Everyone knows how I feel about this. Sen. Bau- cus knows. Sen. (Ron) Wyden knows. The White House knows. “I think everyone would be well advised just to not push this right now,” Reid concluded. (Editor’s Note: Press Associates Inc. contributed to this report.) According to The Better Hearing Institute, the #1 reason for hearing loss today is ... NOISE EXPOSURE. In most cases, it only takes eight total hours of damaging noise exposure to cause hearing loss. FEBRUARY 21, 2014 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
