Shameful. That’s the only way to describe the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision to reverse more than 40 years of precedent this week in its decision to allow a small minority of anti-union workers to strip the majority of their right to join a union and bargain collectively with their employer.
At a time when America isn’t working the way it should for working people, the Bush labor board is pulling the rug out from under our nation’s middle class through decisions that amount to a dramatic change in our nation’s labor laws.
The latest ruling by the Bush board, stemming from a case involving an agreement by Dana Corp. and Metaldyne Corp. with the United Autoworkers not to interfere in workers’ efforts to form a union if a majority has signed union authorization cards, would effectively permit a minority of employees to negate the majority’s decision to have a union. The ruling would extend to instances even where the employer has agreed to recognize the union through majority sign-up or “card check
In its decision, the Board fails to offer a valid explanation for these drastic changes in labor law. The two dissenting members of the five-member board, Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh, say this “sea change in labor law