NLRB Ruling ‘Cuts Voluntary Recognition off at the Knees’

NLRB Ruling ‘Cuts Voluntary Recognition off at the Knees’

by James Parks, Oct 3, 2007

The Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board is at it again. Instead of protecting workers’ freedom to join a union, the Bush-appointed members continue to take away workers’ rights.

In a partisan vote, the board ruled Sept. 29 that if employers voluntarily recognize a union based on union authorization cards (also known as card-check), anti-union employees have a 45-day window to petition for an NLRB decertification election. The employer has to give employees notice of their 45-day window to petition for a decertification election. Just 30 percent of the employees need to sign the petition even though more than 50 percent of employees have already chosen union representation by signing authorization cards.

In effect, this means 30 percent of employees can force an NLRB election, even if a card-check/neutrality agreement was reached before recognition, and even if a bargaining agreement has been reached in the 45-day period. Click here to read the NLRB decision.