ALG's Daily Grind: NLRB secret ballot election attack defunded in U.S. House of Representatives

May 14, 2012

NLRB secret ballot election attack defunded in U.S. House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives took aim at the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) this past week by voting to prohibit the Obama run labor board from using any funds to sue any state on the question of secret ballot elections.

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Why unions hurt the middle class

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CEI to Score Senate Vote on NLRB Ambush Election Rule

What: S.J. Res 36 Joint Resolution of Disapproval to the NLRB Ambush Election Rule

 

CEI Position: Yes

Washington, D.C., April 23, 2012 - This week, the Senate is expected to vote on S.J. Res 36, the Joint Resolution of Disapproval to the NLRB Ambush Election Rule. The resolution would protect workers' rights by preventing what are known as "ambush elections." The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s labor policy analysts will score the Senate vote and incorporate it into CEI’s Congressional Labor Policy Scorecard, which is maintained and updated on WorkplaceChoice.org. The scorecard reflects congressional voting records on all significant legislation affecting worker rights.

In addition to joining with over 25 conservative and free market organizations urging Senators to vote for the resolution, CEI will give a favorable score to Senators who protect workers and vote for S.J. Res 36.

In December the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a rule to expedite unionization elections to as little as 10 days from the average of about a month. This “ambush election rule” allows union bosses—who in most cases have secretly campaigned for months—to spring elections on workers and employers before either has a fair chance to learn their rights. Job creators are left with little time to explain their views to employees.

To repeal the NLRB’s ambush election rule, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo) has introduced S.J. Res 26, the Joint Resolution of Disapproval of the NLRB Ambush Election Rule. By using the Congressional Review Act and the legislative powers granted to them by Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution, Congress can stop the unaccountable federal bureaucrats at the NLRB.

Now, the Senate has an opportunity to make their views known on the union's ambush election rule.

 

Statement by Vincent Vernuccio, CEI Labor Policy Counsel

The unelected bureaucrats at the NLRB went too far in enacting a rule to expedite union elections to as little as 10 days. The only winners in this scenario are union bosses who collect forced dues. As usual their win comes at the expense of workers and job creators.  Anyone who wants workers to be able to make a fully informed decision on unionization should vote repeal the NLRB’s Ambush Election Rule by supporting Sen Enzi’s (R-Wyo) S.J. Res 36.

For more information on the ambush election rule and the Congressional Review Act the  read Vernuccio’s Washington Times op-ed with Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) “Bringing Democracy Back to the Workplace.”

Senate to vote on Enzi bill rescinding NLRB snap elections, ALG urges adoption

April 23, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson issued the following statement urging Senate adoption of S.J. Res. 36 proposed by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) that would rescind a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rulemaking requiring unionization elections occur within seven to 10 days of being filed:

"The Senate has an opportunity to rein in the NLRB's abusive power grab instituting

snap elections on behalf of unions, which will shorten the amount of time businesses have to make their case to employees. This has been a top priority of big labor as union membership wanes nationwide to expedite the process in as little as seven to 10 days.

"The urgency for union certification elections — and the speed with which the NLRB adopted the new rule — is curious when, by the NLRB's own data, it only took about 38 days to wrap up a unionization election under the old rule. The old process has allowed employers the opportunity to present a case against unionization in a manner allowing for deliberation. While it may be more convenient — for union bosses — to dispense with this process as quickly as possible, it neither serves the interests of businesses nor employees who are given little time to weigh the pros and cons of the decision.

"While the Senate should certainly rescind this rulemaking, it should also be mindful that it underscores just how much power this agency really has to issue sweeping regulations affecting tens of thousands of places of business. 

"That is why it is no longer enough to treat the symptoms of the agency's overreaching quasi-judicial powers with mere stopgap measures. In the House, Rep. Austin Scott has proposed HR 2978 that will address this rogue agency in a comprehensive manner. Scott's legislation will abolish the NLRB's powers to serve as prosecutor, judge, and jury in favor of unions. If congressional Republicans are truly committed to reining in the abuses at the NLRB, they should carefully consider the Scott bill, which will eliminate the agency's power to regulate in such a far-reaching manner."

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Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

CEI Today: Obama war on coal, NLRB Antics, and the week in regulations

ENERGY POLICY - IAIN MURRAY

WashingtonTimes.com: War on coal escalates - Obama emissions rules impose real costs with illusory health benefits

Faced with rising gas prices, President Obama recently outlined what he calls an “all-of-the-above” energy policy “that develops every available source of American energy - oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, biofuels and more.” You may notice something missing there - coal, America’s most abundant and affordable fuel source. The administration’s “all of the above” strategy is anything but. > Read the full commentary on WashingtonTimes.com

> Interview Iain Murray

 

LABOR UNIONS - TREY KOVACS & JACK MANN WashingtonExaminer.com: Will Congress stop NLRB? Imagine an election in which one candidate may campaign for a year while the other is only allowed to enter the race a week before Election Day. Blindsided, the latter candidate would have no time to organize a team or respond to attacks. That is precisely what the National Labor Relations Board is trying to accomplish, by imposing an "ambush election" rule on private-sector workplaces. The new rule would give employees as little as 10 days to decide whether or not to unionize. > Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com > Interview the authors > Keep up with all labor policy news at Workplacechoice.org

REGULATION - RYAN YOUNG

Openmarket.org: CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation

•  76 new final rules were published last week, up from 75 the previous week. That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 13 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All in all, 876 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year. If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,563 new rules.
•  2,191 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register last week, for a total of 19,487 pages. At this pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 78,577 pages.

> See the week in regulation and highlights from final rules published last week on Openmarket.org

> For more data, updated daily, go to TenThousandCommandments.com

> Interview Ryan Young

WFI - Taxpayer-Funded Government Agency Does Big Labor’s Bid ding Promoting Unionization

Washington, D.C. (February 14, 2012)  – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today released the following statement in response to news reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will undertake an effort to promote unionization in private sector businesses:

 

“Instead of working to ‘avoid redundant, conflicting, or overly burdensome requirements’ as prescribed just a few days ago by the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, President Obama’s labor board is desperately seeking to promote Big Labor’s interests in private sector workplaces,” said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).  “With our nation’s debt growing, this most recent overreach by the National Labor Relations Board should send a signal to lawmakers that the so-called ‘independent’ agency’s budget merits serious scrutiny.  An effort that uses taxpayer dollars to promote the interests of union bosses who have stated they intend to spend nearly half a billion dollars this November illustrates perfectly just how misguided and irresponsible the unelected bureaucrats at the NLRB have become.  While couching their latest giveaway as a means to protect workers, the reality is that it protects the interests of President Obama’s political benefactors and has been timed to launch just as an another gross overreach by the agency requiring businesses to post pro-labor propaganda takes effect.”

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

“Worker Rights Get Promotional Drive”:

 

“Federal regulators are preparing a drive to tell workers at nonunionized businesses they have many of the same rights as union members, a move that could prompt more workers to complain to employers about grievances ranging from pay and work hours to job safety and management misconduct.  The National Labor Relations Board will focus on workers’ rights to engage in ‘protected concerted activity,’ which allow two or more employees to take action for their mutual aid or protection, NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said in an interview … In the next two weeks, the NLRB is set to roll out a Web page explaining ‘concerted activity’ and highlighting cases involving unlawful punishment for it.  It also plans pamphlets in English and Spanish that will be distributed through worker-advocacy groups and sister federal agencies, such as the Labor Department. NLRB officials will address the issue in speeches and appearances on radio and television … The timing of the new Web page is convenient for the NLRB: Its Web traffic could get a boost April 30, when a rule it finalized last year takes effect.  The rule requires millions of private-sector employers to hang posters at their worksites about employee rights.  The posters list the agency’s Web address and toll-free number, and advises workers to ‘promptly’ contact the NLRB with suspected violations.” (Melanie Trottman, “Worker Rights Get Promotional Drive,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/22/12)

 

White House Office Of Information & Regulatory Affairs Telling Agencies To Avoid Redundant, Conflicting Or Overly Burdensome Requirements:

 

“EXCLUSIVE: Amid criticism from the right that the administration still has too heavy a hand, the White House opens a new phase in its continuing campaign to cut back on unnecessary regulations:

 

“A senior Office of Management and Budget official: ‘Last January, the President ordered an unprecedented government-review of existing rules. … [O]ver two dozen agencies have released ambitious reform plans, outlining hundreds of cost-saving reforms.  A small fraction of those reforms, already finalized or formally proposed to the public, will save more than $10 billion over the next five years.  Today, … OIRA [White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] is issuing guidance telling agencies that they need to work on the front end, with the public and stakeholders, to avoid redundant, conflicting, or overly burdensome requirements.  A rule that in isolation may seem perfectly sensible may overlap with existing requirements in problematic ways, especially for small businesses and startups.  Going forward, agencies will have to keep the big picture of cumulative effects in mind when writing rules.’

 

“From the 2-page guidance, ‘Cumulative Effects of Regulations’: ‘[T]he cumulative effects on small businesses and start-ups deserve particular attention.’”

 

(POLITICO Playbook, 3/20/12)

 

Big Labor To Spend $400 Million Dollars For Obama During 2012 Presidential Election:

 

“Unions are gearing up to spend more than $400 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama and lift Democrats this election year in a fight for labor’s survival.” (Sam Hananel, “Unions Gearing Up To Spend Big In 2012 Election,” The Associated Press, 2/22/12)

 

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit: http://www.workforcefairness.com.