This was posted over at Americna Rights at Work. It suggests that short of a legislative solution, the NLRB can take steps to balance the playing field for workers:
The proposed rule issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ensures workers have a basic right we hold dear in this country: the right to vote. Under the current union election system—a process plagued by bureaucratic delays and costly litigation—workers encounter delays of months and even years, if they even get to vote. By eliminating unnecessary delays and modernizing an outdated system, the proposed rule removes unfair obstacles so that workers can make their own decision about whether to form a union. At a time when millions of workers are struggling just to make ends meet, it’s a modest but much-needed step toward giving more workers a voice on the job and restoring balance to our economy.
Statements of Support:
— Statement from American Rights at Work Executive Director Kimberly Freeman Brown
About the Rule:
— Ensuring a Fair Vote in the Workplace: The Facts on the Proposed NLRB Rule
— NLRB’s press release and fact sheet on proposed rule change
Research Confirms Need for Modernized Elections, Workers Getting a Fair Vote:
— New Data: NLRB Process Fails to Ensure a Fair Vote (University of California, Berkeley, June 2011; PDF)
— The Empirical Case for Streamlining the NLRB Certification Process: The Role of Date of Unfair Labor Practice Occurrence (Columbia University, June 2011)
— Employer Communications on Unions are Early and Ongoing (PDF)
— How Employers Control the Timing of the NLRB Election Process (PDF)
