NLRB Rules Would Speed Up Union Elections

The New York Times reports:

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.

The labor board’s news release and fact sheet did not explain how many days the election process might be shortened as a result of the proposed regulations, on which the public will have 75 days to comment.

Unions have long complained that it takes too many weeks from when they petition for an election to when a secret-ballot election is held. They say the process gives management too much time to mount an aggressive antiunion campaign with videos and one-and-one sessions with workers.

According to the N.L.R.B., the average amount of time it took from petition to election in 2008 was 57 days.

American companies have repeatedly opposed any effort to shorten the period from petition to vote, saying that would make it harder for managers to tell workers about the disadvantages of unionizing and to ensure that workers gets both sides of the story.