Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned an important precedent that had protected the right of individual employees to seek union decertification elections in their workplaces. Under the NLRB’s Dana Corporation decision, employees could petition for a secret ballot election within 45 days if a union won recognition using the card check system. That’s the controversial procedure under which employees are asked to sign cards supporting unionization. The problem with card check is pressure: It’s hard to say no when a burly unionist wants your signature. The Dana precedent gave workers a second chance that was both secret and safe. In the Lamons Gasket Company case, decided on Aug. 26, the NLRB said it would no longer recognize the Dana requirement because it represented “a major change in Board law” that was “unwarranted.” The decision was rushed through because the term of board chairman Wilma Liebman, who was appointed by President Obama, was about to expire. It should also be noted that the board acted despite the fact that board member Craig Becker, another Obama appointee, participated in the deliberations and vote despite having been an advocate for the labor side in the Dana decision.
Why the Dana precedent represented an important protection of individual worker rights was ably described last week in an Examiner oped authored by Barbara Ivey. She explained that “after working at Kaiser Permanente for 21 years, I was abruptly informed that Service Employees International Union organizers were launching a ‘card check’ drive at my workplace. Following a 13-day campaign, company officials announced that SEIU organizers had collected enough union cards to become the sole bargaining agent at my office.”
