A group of 15 Senate Democrats and one independent wrote to National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce and urged him to “vigorously defend” the board’s controversial new rule that allows for faster scheduling of workplace unionization votes.
“Reports indicate this rule will likely be challenged in court by those who oppose workers’ efforts to unionize. We believe this rule will restore balance and certainty to the union election process and strongly encourage you to vigorously defend this rule in the face of such challenges,” wrote the senators, led by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio., in a Jan. 23 letter. The 15 were joined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
The NLRB, the federal agency that enforces labor laws, adopted the new rule on Dec. 12. Dubbed the “quickie election rule” by labor lawyers, it requires that most votes by workers on whether to unionize be scheduled about two weeks after the board authorized them. Previously, the process took one to two months.
Organized labor leaders have long sought the change, since businesses often use the interim period to try to convince workers not to form a union.
In addition to speeding up the process, the rule places strict limits on what objections businesses can raise prior to the vote, including questions regarding who is eligible to vote. It also requires managers to turn over the personal contact information for all of their employes to the union, regardless of whether the worker authorizes the disclosure.
A coalition of business groups, led by the Chamber of Commerce, filed suit against the law earlier this month. “With this rule, [President Obama’s] administration has made clear that it plans to pursue a partisan agenda to overturn longstanding and effective labor policy,” Linda Kelly, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers, said at the time.
The Democratic senators said the most important issue is that the government make it easier to form unions: “Workers deserve to have a union representation election process that is free of stalling tactics and intimidation. These new NLRB rules will reinforce that right. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the collective bargaining process is fair and equal to all parties.”
In addition to Murray and Brown, the letter was signed by Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Al Franken, D-Minn.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Gary C. Peters, Mich.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
