Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Apropos of which, I meant to point to this:
- On Sept. 29 -- a date that will live in the Double Standard Hall of Fame -- the NLRB issued two rulings, the first (Dana Corp./Metaldyne) dealing with "card check." This is the process by which an employer can recognize a union when a majority of employees sign cards or petitions affiliating themselves with that union, bypassing the board election process, which an anti-union employer can drag out for years. The board ruled that once a union was certified through card check, the employer must post a notice telling employees that if 30 percent of them sign a petition saying they don't want a union, the 50 percent-plus-one of them that do are overruled and a board election must be held. The Bush appointees argued that card-check isn't a good measure of worker sentiment, since those employees who sign cards and petitions may be susceptible to "group pressure."
On the same day, however, in a case (Wurtland Nursing) involving an employer's withdrawal of recognition from the union in its workplace, the board ruled that if a majority of workers signed cards or petitions asking for a vote to remove the union, the employer could decertify the union then and there without even holding that vote. Signed petitions from workers, in other words, are suspect when the workers want a union and proof positive when they don't.
Harold Meyerson
Don't hold your breath waiting for conservatives to complain about Wurtland Nursing.
|
Mr. Meyerson conveniently compares two cases that really stand for two different propositions. In the Dana case, the Board was addressing the issue of employees petitioning to have an election to decertify a union after card-check recognition. Under past Board precedent, that was not possible. Simply stated, once the Union was recognized by the employer, employees were stuck with the decision for at least a year (if not longer - if a contract is ratified). The Board changed this mechanism. Now, a window period opens for a short period of time after voluntary recognition - if 30% of the employees file a petitin during the 45-day window, an election will be held.
In the Wurtland case, a majority of employees had presented the employer with a signed petition requesting that an election be held to decertify the union. Based upon this evidence of lack of majority support, the employer withdrew recognition. The ALJ found that this was a violation of the NLRA because the language of the employee petition stated that the employees "wished for a vote" and didn't specifically state that they wanted to get rid of the union. The Board reversed and held that under Levitz Furniture (the case setting forth the employer's burden to show objective evidence that the union has lost majority support prior to withdrawing recognition), the employer in Wurtland had provided objective evidence (through the employee petition) and that the language was not fatal.
The Wurtland case did not address the issue as to whether withdrawal of recognition should only occur through the Board's election process. The two cases don't address the same issue, namely whether Board elections should be the only way to either certify or decertify a union. Under Dana, an employer still has the ability to voluntarily recognize a union.
aV
