Union Bailout Update

by | Feb 25, 2011 | Labor Relations Ink

The fur is beginning to fly as new administrations, both in D.C. and in many of the states, begin to tie union issues to budget problems, and work to unravel the choke hold that Big Labor has had on legislative and regulatory processes the last few years. The NLRB backed down when 4 state Attorneys General rebuffed the NLRB General Counsel’s threat to sue. In a letter back to the Attorneys General, the acting GC said, “As you have unanimously expressed the opinion that the State Amendments can all be construed in a manner consistent with federal law, I believe your letter may provide a basis upon which this matter can be resolved without the necessity of costly litigation. My staff will shortly be in contact with the staff members you have designated to explore this issue further.” This threat isn’t over, but the firm line in the sand drawn by the Attorneys General of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah evidently threw a wrench in the NLRB gears. Utah’s Attorney General expects that the board will now agree to the status quo while waiting for a test case or congressional action. The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing to discuss emerging trends at the National Labor Relations Board. Subcommittee Chairman David P. Roe (R-TN) opened the hearing stating that “the board abandoned its traditional sense of fairness and neutrality and instead embraced a far-more activist approach.” The hearing panel reviewed several recent board decisions, memos from the acting NLRB General Counsel, and the proposed posting rule we’ve covered recently. The full House Committee on Education and the Workforce also held a hearing to review the policies and priorities of the Department of Labor. DOL Secretary Solis was taken to task on a number of issues, including budgeting allocations that enhanced “enforcement” activities yet underfunded the Office of Labor Management Standards, making union financial activity less transparent to the public. Solis attempted to defend the required use of PLAs for government contracts, and the elimination of the LM-2 form. When the House failed to pass an amendment designed to defund the NLRB for the remainder of the fiscal year 2011, they responded by proposing a budget that would cut $50 million from NLRB coffers. With congress nipping at their heels, it will be interesting to see how the NLRB responds to issues on its docket. The latest is whether or not the board will allow unions to sub-divide employees into even smaller groups for organizing purposes. This “opportunity” to change the rules came about during the board’s review of a case involving the United Steelworkers attempt to organize nurses at Specialty Healthcare. One last item from the federal front: the White House announced a new program whereby disgruntled employees can call a hotline set up by the American Bar Association, and secure a lawyer to sue their boss on a contingency fee basis. The DOL already has more attorneys on staff than any other department except for the Justice Department! This appears to “expand” their reach in an almost unlimited fashion. On the state level, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has stirred up a hornet’s nest with his proposed budget, and his plan to bar the state’s public unions from collective bargaining about any issue other than wages. Other stipulations of the plan include: • The state would stop collecting dues money from employee paychecks, forcing the unions to do their own collection • Public-union members would be given the option not to pay dues. • A secret-ballot vote would be required each year to determine whether a majority of workers still want the union • Each public-sector union would have to negotiate new contracts every year • The limit for raises of state employees and teachers would be tied to the consumer price index, unless approved higher via referendum (firefighters and law enforcement exempted) Unionists from across the country have been rallying to the Wisconsin state capital in support of their state union compatriots. Out-of-state demonstrators have clogged the house floor, and the South Central Federation of Labor of Wisconsin has laid the groundwork for a general strike. With 97 unions represented by the federation, the repercussions could be massive. Richard Epstein, a professor at the University of Chicago, believes that such a strike is a strong probability. “They see this as a trillion-dollar proposition if it replicates itself across the country,” Epstein said. A couple of state lines over, Ohio is considering a similar bill to limit the collective bargaining rights of public-sector unions, and grant similar rights for employees who do not want to join the union to opt out of paying dues.

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