formal comments to the Board's proposed rule. - SEIU
formal comments to the Board's proposed rule. - SEIU
formal comments to the Board's proposed rule. - SEIU
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anti-union messages <strong>to</strong> subordinates, eight hours a day, while union supporters are restricted <strong>to</strong> brief<br />
lunchtime conversations” during <strong>the</strong> work day.<br />
pro-union majorities have been eroded by discrimina<strong>to</strong>ry discharges and intimidation. As former U.S.<br />
26 Thus, by <strong>the</strong> time <strong>the</strong> Board holds <strong>the</strong> election, initial<br />
Sena<strong>to</strong>r Arlen Specter put it, “<strong>the</strong> interminable delays leading <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> resolution of unfair labor practices<br />
or representation cases at <strong>the</strong> NLRB render any poll of union support virtually meaningless by <strong>the</strong> time<br />
<strong>the</strong> case is resolved.”<br />
27 Research shows that “[t]he longer <strong>the</strong> delay between <strong>the</strong> filing of <strong>the</strong> petition<br />
and <strong>the</strong> election date, <strong>the</strong> more likely it is that <strong>the</strong> NLRB will charge employers with illegal activity.”<br />
28<br />
This often creates a vicious circle: <strong>the</strong> longer <strong>the</strong> delay, <strong>the</strong> more illegal employer conduct, which in turn<br />
leads <strong>to</strong> ULP charges against employers, <strong>the</strong>reby delaying <strong>the</strong> election even fur<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
This not a new problem. The collapse of workers’ rights under <strong>the</strong> present representation<br />
election system has been documented for years.<br />
29 According <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1994 Final Report of <strong>the</strong> Dunlop<br />
Commission, a non-partisan commission that included labor, employers and academics, <strong>the</strong> evidence<br />
“demonstrated conclusively that current labor law is not achieving its stated intent of encouraging<br />
collective bargaining and protecting workers’ rights <strong>to</strong> choose whe<strong>the</strong>r or not <strong>to</strong> be represented at <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
workplace.”<br />
3° Noting that “[a] lengthy, political-style election campaign serves no useful purpose in <strong>the</strong><br />
labor-management context”<br />
31 and that “a system is poorly designed if it gives parties an incentive and<br />
opportunity <strong>to</strong> seek delay for its own sake,”<br />
32 <strong>the</strong> Dunlop Commission recommended some of <strong>the</strong> exact<br />
same measures <strong>the</strong> NLRB is now proposing. These included “[pjroviding for prompt elections after <strong>the</strong><br />
NLRB determines that sufficient employees have expressed a desire <strong>to</strong> be represented by a union” and<br />
resolving some “challenges <strong>to</strong> bargaining units and o<strong>the</strong>r legal disputes” after elections are held.<br />
33<br />
The dysfunctional nature of <strong>the</strong> United States’ NLRB-supervised election system is particularly<br />
notable because it is out of sync with international norms.<br />
neighbor, Canada, demonstrates that <strong>the</strong> union election process can take place expeditiously. Four of<br />
34 Indeed, <strong>the</strong> experience of our democratic<br />
26 Gordon Lafer, Economic Policy Institute, Proposed Rule Changes by Labor Board Would Make Workplace Elections<br />
More Democratic 8 (EPI Policy Memorandum #188, July 18, 2011) [hereinafter Lafer, Proposed Rule Changes].<br />
27 Arlen Specter & Eric S. Nguyen, Policy Essay: Representation Without Intimidation: Securing Workers’ Right To Choose<br />
Under <strong>the</strong> National Labor Relations Act, 45 HARv. J. ON LEGI5. 311, 312 (2008).<br />
28 Logan et. al, NLRB Process Fails <strong>to</strong> Ensure a Fair Vote, supra note 12, at 2.<br />
29 See, e.g., Human Rights Watch, Unfair Advantage: Workers’ Freedom of Association in <strong>the</strong> United States under<br />
International Human Rights Standards (August 2000), http://www.unhcr.orclrefworld/docid/3ae6a87h4.html.<br />
30 Dunlop Commission On The Future Of Worker-Management Relations: Final Report 9 (1994),<br />
http://digha1commons.iIr.cornelIedu/ci/vicwcon1cnt.cgi?article=1004&context=keY workplace.<br />
31<br />
1d. at 41.<br />
32 1d at 42<br />
33<br />
1d. at 10.<br />
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that “[e]veryone has <strong>the</strong> right <strong>to</strong> form a <strong>to</strong> join trade<br />
unions for <strong>the</strong> protection of his interests.” G.A, Rcs. 217A (Ill). U.N. Doc. Aj81() at 71, Art. 23t41. Likewise, <strong>the</strong><br />
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a document ratified by <strong>the</strong> United States, states that “everyone shall<br />
have <strong>the</strong> right <strong>to</strong> freedom of association with o<strong>the</strong>rs, including <strong>the</strong> right <strong>to</strong> form and join trade unions for <strong>the</strong> protection of his<br />
interests XlLLN GA\ORjupp (No jJt U N D399 Ui\LSLj2L<br />
5