The NLRB strikes again

Earlier this week the National Labor Relations Board proposed new rules concerning the vote by employees to join, or not join a union.  Apparently not content with simply an attempt to halt Boeing from opening a new plant in South Carolina, a right to work state, the NLRB is forging ahead in other areas.

Currently, the average time between a union calling for an election at a workplace and the actual election is about 38 days.  The NLRB is proposing to change that to somewhere between 19 and 23 days, and here is why.

Unions plan for elections months before any announcement is made of an attempt to unionize.  Brochures are printed to hand out to employees containing, of course, truthful information about the benefits of unionizing.  Signs are made to display at the place of business.  Speeches are prepared, truthful, of course, to be given to the employees.  All is in place before the employer has any knowledge of the unionizing effort.

The employer, upon learning of the call for a union vote, must then prepare whatever information he or she feels important to provide to the employees, and 38 days is way too long in labor’s mind.  If only that time frame could be shortened, the employer might not be able to prepare whatever is necessary, and, the attempt to unionize would be victorious.  So, the NLRB has decided to help by crafting a proposal that would cut the time employers have  by approximately 50%.

The real laugher here is the statement of  Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU.

At a time when corporations have lawyers and lobbyists speaking for them on Capitol Hill, it’s a good thing when a federal agency wants to allow working people to have a say.”

Of course, all this is happening as union membership in this country is declining. 

Only 6.9% of private sector workers belonged to unions in 2010, and just 11.9% of all US workers, according to the Department of Labor.  In 1983, unions represented 20.1% of all workers.

Congress, when controlled by the Democrats, refused to pass sweeping union “reforms”.  No problem there when you have an administration that believes it can simply “legislate” from the Oval Office.

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

6 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on June 25, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    “The real laugher here is the statement of? Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU.
    At a time when corporations have lawyers and lobbyists speaking for them on Capitol Hill, it?s a good thing when a federal agency wants to allow working people to have a say.?”
    ?

    If I recall correctly, didn’t former SEIU president Andy Stern top the White House visitor list for the first year of the ?bama regime?
    ?
    SEIU: the purple people beaters.



  2. TomL on June 25, 2011 at 1:22 pm

    Never mind that Trumpka is a visitor to the Whitehouse at least 3 times a week



  3. Gary J on June 25, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    The way I see it is ifn you are good at what you do you have no worries about employment. Union officials are good at what they do which is not much so they derive their pay from others work—————Hmmmmmmmmmmmmsound familiar?? <hint taxes,government,take like it or not>



  4. GdavidH on June 25, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    SSSHHHHH!

    You will let the cat out of the bag about the regulator/dictator in chief.



  5. ricbee on June 25, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    Most intelligent people realize unions are just another dictatorship that costs them money.



  6. Todd from Farmington on June 26, 2011 at 11:31 am

    Follow the money.? It’s all about union memberships, (memberships = unions dues….CASH!) and then passing on money to Democrat candidates who make it easy for unions to stick it to the private sector.
    ?
    The Left has most of the media, the schools, the textbooks, and unionized labor…but we are on to you SOBs and if you think we made some noise on Nov of 2010…wait until you see what we are going to do on election day in 2012!



WI union boycott

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