President Obama on Tuesday vetoed a Republican effort to overturn controversial union voting rules.
Congress passed a resolution of disapproval this month on a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that sped up union elections.
{mosads}Republicans dubbed it an “ambush election” rule, arguing it would allow unions to place undue pressure on workers and employers.
Obama vetoed Congress’s measure shortly after noon in the Oval Office, the fourth veto of his presidency.
Obama said that the Republican resolution would reverse “common-sense, modest changes to streamline” the union voting process.
“I think that’s a bad idea,” he told reporters.
“One of the freedoms of folks who live in the United States is if they choose to join a union they should be able to do so,” he added. “We shouldn’t be making it impossible for that to happen.”
The president also announced the White House would hold a labor summit in the fall.
“The National Labor Relations Board’s representation case procedures rule helps to level the playing field for workers,” the administration said.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday the veto showed Obama is uninterested in working on legislation to boost job growth.
“The NLRB’s ambush election rule is an assault on the rights and privacy protections of American workers,” Boehner said in a statement. “With his veto, the president has once again put the interests of his political allies ahead of the small business owners and hardworking Americans who create jobs and build a stronger economy.”