Federal Judge Allows NMB Rule Change to Proceed
A federal judge in the District of Columbia has granted judgment in favor of the National Mediation Board, allowing a rule change in the way union representation elections are decided to proceed effective July 1, 2010. In Air Transport Association of America, Inc. et. al. v. National Mediation Board, et al., 10-CV-804, District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman issued a brief Amended Order and Judgment yesterday, denying the airline association's motion for injunctive relief and granting summary for the National Mediation Board (NMB) and intervenor, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
On May 11, 2010, the NMB announced that it was changing a decades-old rule regarding the way votes are counted in union representation elections under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Previously, in elections under the RLA, a union would only be certified as a bargaining representative of a group of employees if a majority of all eligible voters cast ballots in favor of unionization -- the "majority in unit" standard. The new standard, the "majority of votes cast" standard, is essentially the standard applied by the National Labor Relations Board in elections under the NLRA -- a union is declared the representative of a unit of employees if a majority of the employees who cast valid ballots vote for union representation.
On May 17, 2010, the association of airlines filed suit, and a few weeks later, the NMB agreed to hold up implementation of the rule until June 30, while the Court considered the parties' respective motions. The judge's order allows for the July 1, 2010 implementation of the rule. A more thorough explanation of the decision is expected early next week.
A Bloomberg Business Week online article reports the reactions of the parties thus:
“Non-participation rates are high,” Tamra Moore, an attorney for the National Mediation Board, the panel that issued the rule, said in a June 21 hearing. “That doesn’t mean they don’t want representation. There are many reasons why people don’t vote.”
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“We are disappointed with the Court’s ruling and believe the National Mediation Board does not have the authority to impose this new rule,” the association said in an e-mailed statement. “We will thoroughly study the decision to determine what, if any steps ATA will take, including exercising our right to appeal the ruling.”
