Moving in the Right Direction

In recent months, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been working to implement sweeping changes to federal labor policies that will undermine the rights of employers and employees. In an effort to roll back the NLRB’s activist agenda, Republicans are advancing the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 3094) to restore key protections workers and employers have enjoyed for decades. Unfortunately, the board’s allies are turning to fear and misinformation in an effort to discredit this sensible response to the board’s radical actions. The House Education and the Workforce Committee is determined to separate the myths from the facts.

Myth: The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act eviscerates workers’ rights.

Fact: The National Labor Relations Board’s ambush election scheme will cripple a worker’s ability to make an informed decision in a union election.

Fact: The June 2011 proposal would allow a union election to begin in as few as 10 days, denying workers sufficient opportunity to consider the benefits and disadvantages of joining a union. It would also deny answers to important questions that can sway a worker’s vote and grant union leaders access to even more personal employee information.

Fact: Deciding whether to join a union can be difficult. Under current policies, a union election is held in an average of 31 days, providing employees a reasonable opportunity to consider the facts, hear both sides of the debate, and make an informed decision.

Fact: Despite the board’s efforts to modify the original proposal, the latest iteration still deprives workers of the opportunity to make an informed decision. Clearly, the Obama board remains determined to empower its union allies by undermining the free choice of workers.

Fact: NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce has made it clear that, while he may not get everything he wants now, he fully intends to pursue in the “future” his entire proposal to jam union elections on workers.

Fact: The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act preserves a worker’s ability to make an informed decision in a union election, denying the current NLRB and any future NLRB from assaulting this important right.

Unfortunately, this is not the only myth propagated by those who support the NLRB’s effort to undermine employers’ free speech and workers’ free choice. House Republicans will continue to stand by workers and help set the record straight.

To learn more about the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act, click here.