Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), joined by a number of union leaders and Democratic lawmakers, yesterday announced introduction of the “Workplace Democracy Act” in the Senate. The bill recycles a number of the failed legislative and administrative efforts of the past decade or so to reform labor law to facilitate union organizing, including the Employee Free… Continue Reading
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More About Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Card Check Proposal
Posted in Card Check, EFCA, Interest Arbitration, Legislation, NLRA, Representation Elections, Senate, White HouseOn Tuesday, presidential candidate and current Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he, and ten Senate co-sponsors, would introduce the Workplace Democracy Act (S. 2142). The bill — a verbatim reiteration of two provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act in the 110th & 111th Congresses — would: certify a union as the exclusive bargaining… Continue Reading
Senator Sanders (I/D-VT) Re-Introduces Employee Free Choice Act
Posted in Card Check, EFCA, House of Representatives, Interest Arbitration, Legislation, NLRA, Remedies, Representation Elections, Senate, White HouseAt a press conference on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 6, 2015, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced that he and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) would introduce the “Workplace Democracy Act” (S. 2142, H.R. 3690). This bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act to facilitate union organizing by requiring certification based on “card check” —… Continue Reading
Democrats Introduce Bill To Increase Dramatically NLRA Penalties Against Employers
Posted in Beyond EFCA: Labor's Agenda, EFCA, Legislation, NLRA, Remedies, Representation Elections, UnionsOn Thursday, September 17, 2015, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-WA) introduced the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act (S. 2042). The bill, promoting collective-bargaining and labor unions by drastically enhancing penalties against employers under the National Labor Relations Act, is being proposed primarily as an election season litmus test, with… Continue Reading
AFL-CIO’s Trumka: Card Check Will Become Law in President Obama’s Second Term
Posted in EFCA, White HousePolitico’s 44 blog quotes a piece by the Atlantic’s Molly Ball, highlighting AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s recent assertion that organized labor has not given up on the Employee Free Choice Act. Trumka tells Ball that the card-check legislation to facilitate private sector unionization will be enacted if President Obama is re-elected: I note that Trumka… Continue Reading
Sen. Arlen Specter Dies: Opposed Cloture, Ending Viability of EFCA; Sought Alternative Reform of NLRA
Posted in EFCA, SenateFormer Senator Arlen Specter passed away on Sunday. Per the Washington Post: For most of his 30 years as Pennsylvania’s longest-serving U.S. senator, Specter was a Republican, though often at odds with the GOP leadership. His breaks with his party were hardly a surprise: He had begun his political career as a Democrat and ended… Continue Reading
Senate Rejects Resolution to Block National Labor Relations Board’s “Quickie” Election Rule
Posted in EFCA, Legislation, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation Elections, SenateYesterday and today the Senate debated and voted on S.J. Res 36, a Resolution of Disapproval aimed at prohibiting the National Labor Relations Board from implementing its new election rules that will shorten the time between the filing of an NLRB petition and the conduct of a union representation election. The Senate rejected the resolution… Continue Reading
NLRB to Vote on Elements of Proposed “Quickie Election” Rules on November 30th
Posted in EFCA, Legislation, NLRB Administration, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation Elections, SCOTUSThe National Labor Relations Board announced today that it has scheduled a vote on whether to adopt “a small number” of the changes to its election procedures that the Board proposed back in June. According to the Board, “[t]he proposed amendments are intended to reduce unnecessary litigation, streamline pre- and post-election procedures, and facilitate the… Continue Reading
Professor Issues New Study Purportedly in Support of “Quickie” Elections
Posted in EFCA, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation Elections, Unfair Labor PracticesOn the heels of the National Labor Relations Board’s proposed rulemaking to shorten the time period between the filing of a representation petition and the holding of an election, Cornell Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner has issued a new study entitled "The Empirical Case for Streamlining the NLRB Certification Process: The Role of Date of Unfair Labor Practice… Continue Reading
More on NLRB’s Proposal to Expedite Union Representation Elections
Posted in EFCA, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation ElectionsAs reported earlier, the National Labor Relations Board tomorrow will officially publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to drastically shorten the time for union representation elections. While legislators were unable to eliminate the time between petition and representation election entirely via the failed push for the Employee Free Choice Act, there have consistently been proponents… Continue Reading
NLRB To Issue Proposed Rulemaking for “Quickie” Elections
Posted in EFCA, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation ElectionsAs has been expected, for quite some time now, the National Labor Relations Board tomorrow will officially publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to drastically shorten the time for union representation elections. According to the NLRB’s fact sheet, "[t]he proposed amendments are intended to reduce unnecessary litigation, streamline pre- and post-election procedures, and facilitate the… Continue Reading
Public Interest Group and 34 Arizona Employees Seek to Intervene in NLRB’s Lawsuit Against Arizona
Posted in EFCA, Federal Court Litigation, NLRA, Representation Elections, State/Local IssuesOn June 9, 2011, the nonprofit organization Save Our Secret Ballot and 34 individuals moved to intervene as defendants in the National Labor Relations Board’s lawsuit against the State of Arizona challenging Article 2 § 37 of the Arizona Constitution. That state constitutional provision, passed by voter referendum last year, requires a guarantee of a… Continue Reading
WaPo Opinion: “Labor’s Hail Mary Pass”
Posted in EFCA, House of Representatives, Legislation, NLRA, Senate, Unions, White HouseIn today’s Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson chronicles frustration with the state of the labor movement in America and the resulting shift in the organizing strategy of the AFL-CIO and the SEIU. In "Labor’s Hail Mary Pass," he asserts this shift "reflects a belief that the American labor movement may be on the verge of extinction and must radically… Continue Reading
National Labor Relations Board Sues Arizona Over Secret Ballot Amendment
Posted in EFCA, Federal Court Litigation, Legislation, NLRA, NLRB Misc., Representation Elections, State/Local IssuesThe National Labor Relations Board this afternoon filed suit against the State of Arizona in the federal District Court for the District of Arizona. Consistent with its previous announcement of its intent to do so, the Board is seeking a Declaratory Judgment proclaiming Arizona Constitution Article 2 § 37 pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act. Article… Continue Reading
NYT: National Labor Relations Board to Sue Arizona, South Dakota Over Anti-Card-Check Amendments
Posted in EFCA, Federal Court Litigation, House of Representatives, Legislation, NLRA, NLRB Misc., Representation Elections, Senate, State/Local IssuesSteven Greenhouse writes in the New York Times that the National Labor Relations Board plans to proceed with lawsuits against two of the four states it threatened earlier this year over state constitutional amendments to ban union recognition by card-check. On January 14, 2011, Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon advised the Attorneys General of Arizona,… Continue Reading
No Joke: NLRB Chairman Giving “Active Consideration” to Rulemaking For Quicker Elections
Posted in EFCA, House of Representatives, NLRB Administration, NLRB Rule-Making, Representation ElectionsThis past April Fool’s Day, labor relations consultant Phil Wilson raised eyebrows and heart rates with his gag e-mail announcing that the National Labor Relations Board had adopted implemented a new 5-day timetable for union representation elections. Our post the next day: So, while LRI’s April Fool’s e-mail alert was a well-designed prank on employers and the management bar, none of us… Continue Reading
Proposed Change to NLRB Election Procedure? Just Kidding!
Posted in EFCA, Legislation, NLRB Administration, Representation ElectionsSome of you may have received an e-mail alert yesterday from labor consultant Phil Wilson at LRI with the Subject line “Breaking News: NLRB Implements 5-Day Elections.” This was enough to raise the heart rates of many labor professionals around the country. The body of the email explained that the NLRB’s Representation Casehandling Manual was being changed… Continue Reading
Secret Ballot Protection Act Introduced in House
Posted in EFCA, House of Representatives, Legislation, Representation Elections, SenateChairman of the House HELP Sub-Committee, Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) has introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act (H.R. 972). Back on January 27, 2011, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced the Senate version of the bill (S. 217). Rep. Roe’s bill tracks Senator DeMint’s bill, and the language of the bill as introduced in previous sessions of Congress.… Continue Reading
Attorneys General in Four States Respond to NLRB Regarding Secret Ballot Laws
Posted in EFCA, Legislation, NLRB Administration, State/Local IssuesIn case you missed the reference by Senator DeMint (D-SC) included in our post yesterday, the Attorneys General of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah have filed a joint letter in response to NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon’s recent invitation to address the constitutionality of the states’ secret ballot amendments. The letter from the… Continue Reading
Senator DeMint Introduces Secret Ballot Protection Act in Senate
Posted in EFCA, Legislation, Representation Elections, Senate, State/Local IssuesSenator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) today introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA), a bill intended to "guarantee the right of every American worker to have a secret ballot election on whether to unionize." While the full text is not yet available, versions of this bill introduced in earlier sessions of Congress would have made… Continue Reading
NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Announces Another Expansion of Remedies: Reading Notices, Union Access to Bulletin Boards, Employee Contact Info
Posted in EFCA, NLRB Rule-Making, Remedies, Unfair Labor PracticesThe Employee Free Choice Act appears completely dead — not just "mostly dead," as it is unlikely to make the lame duck Congressional agenda as many feared. Yet, the National Labor Relations Board continues its recent efforts to expand traditional Board remedies administratively without the passage of new legislation. Today, Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon… Continue Reading
NLRB Grants Default Judgment Pursuant to Settlement Agreement Language
Posted in EFCA, NLRB Decisions, Remedies, Unfair Labor PracticesThe Employee Free Choice Act provision which garnered the least attention during the legislative push for the bill during the last several years was the section expanding remedies under the National Labor Relations Act. After EFCA’s future prospects appeared particularly dim, back in February 2010, we speculated in a Bloomberg Law Reports piece that the National… Continue Reading
Board to Revisit Dana Corp., Voluntary Recognition Bar
Posted in Bush Board Reversal, EFCA, NLRA, NLRB DecisionsBack in August, the Board granted review in Lamon Gasket Co., a case that will reconsider a 2007 Board decision (Dana Corp., 351 NLRB 434). Under Dana, when an employer agrees to voluntarily recognize a union based on signed authorization cards, it may advise employees that they have a 45 day window to file a… Continue Reading
How Will Republican Landslide Impact Major Labor Legislation?
Posted in Bush Board Reversal, EFCA, Executive Orders, House of Representatives, Legislation, NLRB Decisions, NLRB Rule-Making, Remedies, Senate, White HouseOn Tuesday, Republicans gained a majority in the House, picking up at least 60 seats with several more races remaining too close to call. Republicans also picked up 6 seats in the Senate but fell short of gaining the majority. MLA’s client advisory on the election results is available here. What impact might the significant… Continue Reading