Jeb Bush is vowing to reform the way the federal government enforces union workplace laws, promising sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Board if he is elected.
The move comes as the Republican presidential primary race is focused on the union-averse South, with the South Carolina primary three days away.
The Republican presidential candidate will call for several reforms to the labor board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency, in a new policy statement, his campaign said. Business groups and Republican lawmakers have complained bitterly about the board, arguing that its recent actions and rules changes have tilted the playing field in favor of unions. It is a criticism Bush shares.
“We must reverse the radicalization of the NLRB. As president, I will return the NLRB to its intended purpose of protecting workers — not unions. We will fix the way the board operates, rein in the office of the [board’s] general counsel, undo NLRB’s anti-worker and anti-growth policies, and amend the National Labor Relations Act so that it protects all workers’ rights,” Bush said, according to a statement provided by his campaign.
The candidate promised to sign the Employee Rights Act, GOP-backed legislation that would prevent a union from using a worker’s membership dues for any purpose other than collective bargaining without getting that worker’s prior written consent. It makes use of threats or force against a worker a federal crime and would reform union election rules by requiring all elections to have secret ballots and that a union win a majority of all workers, not just a majority of those who voted. The legislation also would roll back a recent labor board rule that shortened the period between when a union workplace organizing election is authorized and when it is held.
Bush also vowed to sign separate legislation called the NLRB Reform Act that would expand the board from five members to six, with both parties getting three picks. Currently the president picks three and the minority party picks two, giving the president’s party control. An evenly split board likely would deadlock on many controversial issues. The legislation also would allow employers to contest NLRB complaints in federal court.
He also said he would work with Congress to roll back the labor board’s recent moves to expand the definition of a “joint employer,” when one business can be held liable for the workplace practices of another employer, such as contractors and their subcontractors.
Bush currently ranks fifth in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
Attacking the labor board in South Carolina may resonate with Republican voters. In 2011, the board issued a complaint against airline manufacturer Boeing, charging that opening a new factory in the state amounted to retaliation against the union that represented Boeing’s workers in Washington state. A Boeing executive had said that past labor strikes in that state were one of the reasons why Boeing chose to expand to South Carolina, a right-to-work state with relatively weak unions. The board’s action was highly controversial since it implied that opening a factory in a right-to-work state would be considered an unfair labor practice even if, as in the case of Boeing, no existing workers lost their jobs. Top Republicans in the state, including Gov. Nikki Haley, denounced the complaint. The board later withdrew it when Boeing settled with the union later that year.
“As governor of Florida, I was proud of our state’s right-to-work laws that gave workers the right to decide whether or not to participate in a union. As president, I will stop bureaucrats from attacking companies who build factories and hire workers in states like South Carolina and Florida with strong right-to-work laws,” he said.
Bush will try to use the announcement to draw a contrast between himself and other White House contenders. “While other presidential candidates, like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders maintain close relationships with union bosses, I will protect workers from these self-interested chieftains,” he said.
Clinton and Sanders have been locked in a tight struggle for the endorsements of major unions, with Clinton garnering the majority of them. The billionaire businessman has not been endorsed by any major union but has had extensive dealings with them in his career as a real estate developer. Trump is also a union member, having become a member of the Screen Actors Guild through his numerous appearances on television and films.
