Recent actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have sparked enough anger among employers to prompt a lawsuit, an ad campaign, and support for a bill in Congress that’s seen as a way to curb what one employer group calls a “rogue agency.”
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) filed a lawsuit on September 10 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the NLRB from moving forward with a recently approved plan to require most employers — both union and nonunion — to display a new poster outlining worker rights.
The poster, available on the NLRB website, states that employees have the right to act together to improve wages and working conditions; to form, join, and assist a union; to bargain collectively with their employer; and to refrain from any of those activities. The notice also provides examples of unlawful employer and union conduct and instructs employees how to contact the NLRB with questions or complaints. The deadline for displaying the new poster is November 14.
“This rule is just another example of the Board’s aggressive overreach to insert itself into the day-to-day decisions of businesses — exerting powers it doesn’t have,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The growing list of burdensome actions from the NLRB is causing great uncertainty among manufacturers at a time when our economy is struggling to recover. We are committed to fighting this rule in order to rein in the NLRB. We also are encouraging Congress to act soon to stop this rogue agency.”
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act on September 15 and sent it to the Senate. If enacted, the bill would stop the NLRB from trying to keep aerospace giant Boeing Company from locating a major assembly line in a nonunion plant in South Carolina instead of in a union facility in Washington state.
Boeing’s decision has prompted an unfair labor practice charge. Union supporters claim that Boeing’s plant location decision was in retaliation for previous work stoppages at the Washington operation.
In addition to the lawsuit and the bill in Congress, NAM and the National Federation of Independent Business launched an online campaign on September 12 in conjunction with a multistate radio ad campaign calling for passage of the anti-NLRB bill. The campaign points out NLRB actions the groups claim “are causing unnecessary uncertainty among employers while unemployment remains above nine percent and the U.S. economy is struggling to recover.”
Get complete federal and state poster kits, including the new NLRB poster requirement
Glad to see companies standing up against this attempt to give Unions more leverage than they should ever have. Contrary to what they may think, the Unions don’t get free reign of American businesses. It’s a shame that they are so pushy, and yes, greedy at a time when the country gives all the appearances of falling apart.
I agree with Sherry. I happen to work for an American manufacturer of a product that everyone recognizes, but I won’t mention it here as I don’t want to appear to be a spokesperson for them. I can’t say enough great things about my employer. Their wages are fair and the benefit package is awesome. They run the company so well that they have been able to give a Christmas bonus every year as well as avoid layoffs for many years.
Back around 2000, a group of renegade employees tried to get the union in one of the manufacturing facilities in the Midwest. Many of us there were outraged that the union reps staked out the driveway and streets just off the property. We knew that if a union came in and tinkered with the balance the company had, it would be curtains.
It doesn’t take rocket science to look at the history of unions and see over and over again how often companies have been run into the ground because of unreasonable wage and benefit demands (kinda reminds me of the current administration in Washington DC). Until I see unions come in and really attempt to partner with companies for a win-win scenario (hmmm…I guess they’d have to agree on what win-win looks like first), I’m not interested. My employer is fair and treats its people well. That’s good enough for me.