On Feb. 17, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) expressing concern over several regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
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On Feb. 12, the West Virginia legislature voted 18-16 to override Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s vetoes of a prevailing wage repeal bill and the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act, making West Virginia the 26th Right to Work state in the country and the fourth state to pass Right to Work since 2012.
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On Feb. 4, the West Virginia Legislature sent two important bills to the governor’s desk. The House of Delegates passed ABC-supported right-to work legislation, the “Workplace Freedom Act” (SB 1) by a vote of 54-46, while the state Senate approved legislation repealing the state’s prevailing wage law along party lines. The measures were intensely debated in both chambers in the weeks leading up to the votes. West Virginia’s prevailing wage law was mired in controversy following the passage of a reform bill in 2015 and ABC’s West Virginia Chapter has been a vocal supporter of repealing the state’s prevailing wage.
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West Virginia State Senator Sue Cline (R-Wyoming) was sworn into office on Jan. 25 following a Jan. 22 court decision requiring Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D- W.Va.) to appoint a Republican to fill a vacant seat. Sen. Cline was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Sen. Daniel Hall (R-Wyoming), who was elected as a Democrat but switched parties prior to resigning.
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ABC, as part of a coalition representing more than 50 employer organizations, sent a letter Dec. 18 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) urging them to delay issuing the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final persuader rule until it finalized a rulemaking scheduled for later this year that will make significant changes to Form LM-21, which employers are required to file when they hire a persuader. The final “persuader” rule is currently under review at OIRA.
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On Nov. 5, Gov. Tom Wolf (D-Pa.) signed Act 59 of 2015 into law, officially eliminating exemptions for offenses of stalking, harassment, and threats of weapons of mass destruction from the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. Under previous law, individuals could not be charged with these offenses if it was found they were associated with a labor dispute.
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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.
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A group of Congressmen Feb. 9 wrote a joint resolution Feb. 9 that would stop the implementation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ambush election rule. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), with the support of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Sen. Alexander is chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Rep. Kline is chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education.
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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a 3-2 split decision along party lines Dec. 11, stating that employees are permitted, except in very limited circumstances, to use corporate email systems during non-work time for union organizing (Section 7 activities). The Board’s decision overturns the 2007 decision in Register Guard.
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On Dec. 12, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its long-awaited final rule that overhauls the procedures for union representation elections. Under this controversial rule, the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place likely will dramatically be reduced from the current average of 38 days. The changes are currently scheduled to take effect on April 14, 2015, unless a court or Congress blocks enforcement of the new rule.
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