Labor Rules Revamped by NLRB, Workers and Businesses Have Less Time to Make Big Decisions

Washington, DC, December 21, 2011 – The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday announced a new rule aimed at rushing elections for union-organizing, whittling down the number of days that workers and companies have to consider and debate whether to unionize.  (See WSJ story, Labor Board Backs Speedier Union Votes.)

CEI labor policy experts offered the following comments on the abrupt, Christmas week ruling.

Vincent Vernuccio, CEI Labor Policy Attorney

Due process, procedure, and Democracy be damned! That is the message from the NLRB as they rammed through their ambush election final rule on Wednesday. The Obama appointees to the NLRB could not wait to give a huge favor to Big Labor before controversial member Craig Becker’s recess appointment expires at the end of this year. The Democratic members ignored the traditional waiting period for dissent, considered only 10 percent of the over 65,000 public comments, and could not be bothered to wait for a larger quorum.

Because of their actions workers will not be given the full picture about unionization, small business will not have enough time to response to unionization campaigns, and everyone except unions will have their free speech limited. Once again, what is good for big labor is bad for workers and business.

Ivan Osorio, Labor Policy Analyst

That the NLRB should ram through a rule establishing ambush elections is unfortunate but not surprising. The Board’s action this week is but the latest of a growing list of unilateral efforts by the Obama administration to impose policy changes favorable to organized labor through the regulatory process. Congress needs to hold the NLRB and other rogue agencies accountable and end this kind of legislation by regulation.

View more on labor policy at www.workplacechoice.org