@LRToday Morning Round-Up: December 17, 2012
NLRB Member Hayes' Term Expires: Melanie Trottman of The Wall Street Journal writes that Brian Hayes', the National Labor Relations Board's sole Republican member, term expired.
Mr. Hayes’ departure...will eliminate what has typically been the only voice of dissent about board rulings and decisions. When board Democrats approved a new federal rule last December designed to speed and streamline union-organizing drives, Mr. Hayes symbolically rejected it by choosing not to vote. He likewise opposed board Democrats last year in a ruling that employer groups said endorsed the formation of so-called union mini-bargaining units in workplaces. Without the filing of written dissents, the board could issue decisions more quickly because dissents can slow the process. The absence of written dissents could also weaken appeals of board decisions because plaintiffs often cite the legal analysis used in dissents to bolster their court cases.
Union Holds Up Ratification Vote Count: Dale Kasler of The Modesto Bee reports that Local 8 of the United Food and Commercial Workers will not release the count of its members' contract ratification vote until Raley's resolves some grievances.
Jacques Loveall, president of Local 8 of the United Food and Commercial Workers in Roseville, cited Raley's "flagrant violation of the strike settlement" in his refusal to release the results of the voting. The votes were supposed to be counted Monday.
Loveall's announcement suggests that the truce between Raley's and its unionized workforce is as fragile as ever. Nonetheless, workers aren't being summoned back to the picket lines. Loveall said he expects the issues to be resolved by Jan. 2. "The ballots are now in a vault and will not be counted until there is resolution of the grievances," he said in an email.
Unions Push Senate to Eliminate Filibuster: Michael Rose of Bloomberg BNA writes that a group of unions and other nonprofit groups urged Senate Democratic leaders to change Senate rules to reduce legislative inaction caused by the filibuster.
The coalition includes the AFL-CIO; the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the Association of Flight Attendants and its parent union, the Communications Workers of America; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the National Education Association; the Service Employees International Union; the Transport Workers Union; the United Auto Workers; the United Food and Commercial Workers; and the United Steelworkers.
The letter called for changes to Senate rules, including eliminating the ability to filibuster motions to proceed, requiring that senators who want to block legislation or nominations actually take the floor and filibuster, requiring 41 senators to vote to continue debate on a measure, rather than requiring 60 votes to end debate; and “[streamlining] the nomination process so that nominees will get a yes or no vote on the Senate floor, including a reduction of the required 30 hours of post-cloture debate on a nominee to two hours.”
