Posts tagged Secret Ballot
‘All-of-government’ approach undermines workers’ free choice
February 15, 2024 // As punishment for the “offense” of simply not being organized by a union, these employers face particular hostility from the supposed arbiter of private-sector labor relations, the National Labor Relations Board. Now packed with pro-union Biden appointees, the Board continues to issue decisions that appear singularly focused on increasing union power without regard to their impact on workers or businesses.
IN POSSIBLE TEST OF FEDERAL LABOR LAW, GEORGIA COULD MAKE IT HARDER FOR SOME WORKERS TO JOIN UNIONS
February 12, 2024 // he state Senate voted 31-23 on Thursday for a bill backed by Gov. Brian Kemp that would bar companies that accept state incentives from recognizing unions without a formal secret-ballot election. That would block unions from winning recognition from a company voluntarily after signing up a majority of workers, in what is usually known as a card check. Senate Bill 362 moves to the House for more debate. Union leaders and Democrats argue the bill violates 1935’s National Labor Relations Act, which governs union organizing, by blocking part of federal law allowing companies to voluntarily recognize unions that show support from a majority of employees.
National Right to Work Foundation Issues Notice to VW Chattanooga Employees: UAW Officials May Try to Grab Power Without Vote
February 9, 2024 // “Employees unionized under a card check are not allowed to vote on union representation in a secret-ballot election,” the notice reads. “However, prior to Cemex, employers could refuse to impose union representation on their workers based on a card check. That is why, in the past, Volkswagen employees were allowed to vote on (and reject) UAW representation.” The notice explains that Cemex upends the union election process. Now, if UAW union officials claim they have collected authorization cards from the majority of workers in the unit (news reports indicate UAW officials are already claiming this) the union can be granted bargaining power over every worker at the plant without a secret ballot election.
Maintenance workers at Duke Raleigh Hospital vote to unionize
January 30, 2024 // Workers within the Duke University Health System have attempted unionization before, most notably during the unsuccessful Duke University Hospital unionization drives of the 1970s. After dining hall and custodial workers unionized at Duke in 1972, hospital workers at Duke University Hospital tried to form an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union in 1974. The University delayed the unionization election until November 1976, and then expanded the types of workers who were eligible to vote to include many highly skilled employees. AFSCME went on to barely lose the election, as support for the union died down and internal disputes dampened organization efforts. Workers at the hospital tried to unionize again in the summer of 1978, with many workers complaining of harassment from their supervisors and discrimination from administration. The hospital workers ultimately voted to reject AFSCME representation in early 1979.
Unions poised to capitalize on U.S. labor board rulings that bolstered organizing
January 2, 2024 // Business groups and employers are challenging many of those decisions in court, but in the mean time companies should brace themselves for an uptick in organizing emboldened by the NLRB's burst in pro-union activity, experts said. "There's an all-out assault to get businesses to recognize unions and increase union membership," said Ben Brubeck, vice president at construction trade group Associated Builders and Contractors.
Big Labor Is an Economic and Political Dead End
October 26, 2023 // While misguided faux populists like Senator Hawley adopt the policy positions of union leaders who want to force as many workers as possible to fund their self-interested political agenda, other Republicans should stand with workers and co-sponsor the Employee Rights Act. It would protect workers’ right to secret-ballot union elections, the right of freelancers to remain independent (as the vast majority prefer), and allow workers to decide for themselves whether they wish to share personal information with union organizers or support union political spending. Too often, labor issues are inaccurately described as having two sides: “union” and “management.” But this populist moment is the perfect time for Congress to stand up for the oft-forgotten but most important third group: actual workers. The Employee Rights Act would be the perfect start. In the face of President Biden’s advancing radical agenda and some Republicans’ erroneously gravitating towards it, this pro-worker legislation can’t be enacted a moment too soon.
CDW RELEASES WHITE PAPER SHOWING DANGERS OF EMPLOYERS AGREEING TO NEUTRALITY AND CARD CHECK AGREEMENTS
October 25, 2023 // “Card check agreements expose workers to coercion, intimidation, and deception. They prevent workers from voting for union representation through an NLRB-supervised, secret ballot election, forcing workers to make their decision in front of union organizers and colleagues. Union intimidation of employees to sign cards is well-documented, and that history should not and cannot be ignored. “These agreements decimate workers’ rights and should not be applauded or encouraged. Employers who care about their employees’ best interests shouldn’t agree to neutrality or card check agreements but instead should insist on protecting workers’ rights to a full and open debate and secret ballot elections.”
Employee Advocate Issues Legal Notice After Labor Board Fast-Tracks Union Control Over Workers Without Secret Ballot Votes
October 7, 2023 // The notice explains that all employees have the right to refuse to sign a union authorization card, and to revoke any union authorization card they previously signed. It also reminds workers that “it is a good practice to inform both the union and your employer in writing that you revoked the card so that the union and your employer do not wrongfully count you as a supporter of union representation during a card check.” Workers also have the right to “sign and circulate cards or petitions against union representation, on non-work time and in non-work areas,” the notice states. Such petitions or cards can be used later to request the NLRB hold an election at the workplace to remove (or “decertify”) the union, and can also be provided to the employer as evidence to contest union claims of majority support. The notice provides links to sample letters revoking union authorization cards and sample union decertification petitions. “If you have questions about your rights during a union organizing campaign, you can contact Foundation staff attorneys for more information and assistance with exercising your rights,” the notice concludes.
Commentary: Leaked Messages From UAW Official Reveal a Big Cause of Unions’ Decline
September 28, 2023 // If union officials actually want to protect UAW jobs and improve workers’ compensation, then they have to want the Big Three American automakers to succeed and to grow. Considering that U.S. auto production is less than half of what it was two decades ago, success is likely going to require that the UAW work alongside—rather than against—U.S. automakers to help them become more competitive. To the extent that involves lobbying policymakers, the focus should be on getting the government out of the business of picking winners and losers by its subsidizing of more expensive electric vehicles that require 40% less labor while also seeking to ban gas-powered vehicles that Americans still overwhelmingly desire. And if unions across America want to increase their membership, they should appeal directly to workers by offering things they value instead of using their dues to get politicians to go against their interests by doing things like attacking secret ballot union elections, restricting employers’ ability to share important information with workers before union elections, and establishing a pathway to force an employer to bargain with a union even if workers don’t want to be represented by it.
Piscataway L’Oreal Employees Demand Vote to Remove RWDSU Union Officials from Facility
September 21, 2023 // Mark Mix. “RWDSU is still trying to impose itself on workers at the large Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, despite those workers voting not once, but twice to reject the union’s presence.” “Unfortunately, the Biden NLRB is trying to make it easier for union officials who seek to undermine worker votes to cling onto power, but Foundation attorneys will continue to defend Ms. Hoyos Lopez and any other employee who seeks to exercise their individual right to vote out unwanted union officials,”