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<< Astonishing GOP Meltdown | Main | In Memoriam: Reagan's Victims >> June 11, 2004Red Alert- NLRB Targets Card CheckThis is IT- the case every union lawyer and organizer has been waiting for under Bush. Due to disarray at the NLRB (and some strategic maneuvering by unions), the Bush folks are only now looking to cut voluntary recognition of unions-- ie. card checks -- the single most important tool used by unions. The NLRB has essentially become a roadblock to forming unions. Every attempt to hold an election becomes a string of delays and appeals by employers, all the while workers are terrorized and fired for whatever reason can be justified during the years of delay. So the one way unions have been able to win is by bypassing the NLRB, demanding that employers recognize a union when a majority of workers ask for it. But now the NLRB is deciding a case involving the UAW, where two auto parts companies agreed to card-check recognition of the union in 2003. The rightwing National "Right to Work" Committee brought a lawsuit challenging the agreement, but the local NLRB judges dismissed the challenge. But this week, the Republican majority at the NLRB voted to hear an appeal of the case-- a decision the minority Democratic members of the labor board saw as ominous: Dissenting Democratic members Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh said the right to voluntary agreements between unions and managements without a secret-ballot vote of the members was settled 40 years ago. It called the majority's willingness to take the case ''unsupported -- and, indeed, highly questionable.''A number of other anti-union cases may come down before the election, but this is a sign that the second four-year term of Bush is set to be a full-out assault on the right to organize. Posted by Nathan at June 11, 2004 08:31 AM Related posts:
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsHere's the deal. The National Labor Relations Board issues a "certification" to a union, declaring that the union is the official, legal "exclusive bargaining agent" of the group of workers in question at a particular employer. For the 12 months after the date of the certification, the law bars any election by those workers to deunionize (called a "decertification" election). In this case, the Board is considering whether recognition under a card-check agreement should trigger the one-year election bar, or whether it should be possible for the workers to file for the "decert" election at any time after voluntary recognition. So those are the trees. As for the forest...it'll be impossible to rebuild a strong labor movement if we rely exclusively on the NLRB election process. It's designed to be outrageously slow. One of Bush's key goals is to destroy organized labor, and making card check illegal is a key component of that program. This wouldn't make it illegal, but it would be a clear signal by the Board that they want to go after it. Posted by: Nick at June 11, 2004 10:19 PM Yeah, this is bad. I've been waiting 3.5 years for the Bush board to get its Dotson on -- here we go! Posted by: Trapper John at June 14, 2004 09:00 PM I work as a union organizer in the building trades. This card check garbage by the republican members not only slows the process but, it allows for more worker rights abuses by corporations. Posted by: Rob at June 16, 2004 07:18 PM I work as a union organizer in the building trades. This card check garbage by the republican members not only slows the process but, it allows for more worker rights abuses by corporations. Posted by: Rob at June 16, 2004 07:18 PM Sorry that i am a bit of topic here. Posted by: Navel at July 13, 2004 01:04 AM Post a comment
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