Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Big news: NLRB proposes quicker elections

The National Labor Relations Board is proposing that unionization elections be speeded up.

Anti-worker extremists (e.g., the Governors Gone Wild, the Koch brothers, the DeVos family) will have conniptions.

The New York Times has the story:
In a move that will undoubtedly please labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday morning proposed new rules to speed up unionization elections, largely by streamlining various procedures.
The labor board wants to tighten up the process by ensuring that employers, employees and unions receive needed information sooner and by delaying litigation over many voter-eligibility issues until after workers vote on whether to unionize.
 Here's the NLRB's press release and fact sheet.

This is a real reversal of the lovely vote-suppression trend that's stinking up statehouses around the country. It makes it easier to vote and gives workers a fair chance to decide to join a union.

You'll hear the anti-worker extremists howl about how businesses can't afford unions in hard economic times like these (though they're making record profit). These are people who either don't know or choose to ignore the well-established historical fact that strong economies result from a strong middle class. And we all know where a strong middle class comes from.

The NLRB is proposing fairly modest changes that will clean up a system that's lousy with delays, bureaucracy and litigation.

There are 75 days to comment on the proposal. You'll need to get out your ink pens and tell the government that this is the greatest thing since sliced Deli Swirl Rye and Pumpernickel.