A joint resolution to halt the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial ambush election rule passed the U.S. Senate March 4 by a vote of (53-46) after being introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), ABC supported the bill, and sent a letter to each Senator urging its passage and informing them that ABC would consider the vote as a key vote on its 114th Congressional Scorecard.
The joint resolution was introduced by Sen. Alexander and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) Feb. 9 (S.J. Res. 8 in the Senate and H.J. Res. 29 in the U.S. House of Representatives) and will now be taken up by the House before it is sent to President Obama. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions also held a hearing on March 4. The hearing was chaired by Representative Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) and ABC submitted a letter for the hearing record in support of H.J. Res. 29.
In its letter to the Senate ABC explained “The majority of ABC member companies are small businesses, which typically do not employ legal counsel or a human resources representative. Under the rule, employers are required to disclose voter eligibility lists to petitioning unions within two days after the direction of election. This creates a heavy burden on construction employers who are bound by unique voter eligibility requirements that allow laid off employees meeting criteria specified by the Board to vote in NLRB elections. In addition, the rule defers the question of which employees are considered to be in supervisory positions until after the election; this will result in greater uncertainty regarding the treatment of construction foreman by both sides during the election campaign, leading to the greater possibility of unfair labor practices or objectionable conduct.”
ABC has consistently opposed the NLRB’s ambush election rule as unfair to employers and employees and has raised privacy concerns over the proposal’s distribution of employees’ personal contact information, including in testimony before the NLRB in April 2014. In addition, ABC of Texas and the Central Texas Chapter of ABC Jan. 13 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas seeking to overturn the latest version of the NLRB’s ambush election rule.
The changes are scheduled to take effect April 14, 2015, unless a court or Congress blocks enforcement of the new rule.