NRCA Action Alert: Oppose New "Card Check" Regulations

August 2011

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued two proposed regulations that threaten to impose card check-style changes in union election rules. If implemented, these regulations will severely restrict the rights of employers in the collective-bargaining process. NRCA strongly opposes these radical regulations and urges members to voice their concerns directly to NLRB and DOL.

Background

NRCA represents union and open-shop contractors and supports policies that maintain an equitable balance in labor-management relations. Unfortunately, there is nothing balanced about the NLRB and DOL proposals.

The NLRB regulation would dramatically reduce time frames for union elections and, as a result, erode the due process rights of employers and make it difficult for employees to become fully informed of important issues before a union election. Currently, the median time for an election from the time a petition is filed is 38 days; the NLRB proposal would result in expedited elections of only 10 to 21 days. In a dissent to the proposal, NLRB member Brian Hayes said: "The principle purpose of this radical manipulation of our election process is to minimize, or rather, to effectively eviscerate an employer's legitimate opportunity to express its views about collective bargaining."

The DOL proposal also is problematic. It would dramatically curtail the ability of employers to communicate with employees during a union election by expanding employer disclosure requirements under federal law. The regulation virtually eliminates the decades-old "advice exemption" that allows most communications between employers and their attorneys or other consultants to be kept confidential. NRCA is concerned this regulation would severely limit the ability of employers, especially small businesses, to use the advice of qualified professionals to help them navigate and comply with complex labor laws during union organizing campaigns.

Together, these proposals deliver a one-two punch to the right of employers to effectively communicate with their employees in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act.

Take Action Now!

Public comments will be accepted on these proposals by NLRB through Aug. 22 and DOL through Sept. 21. NRCA has filed comments urging the agencies to withdraw the proposed regulations. NRCA also urges members to make their voice heard directly with the agencies.

How to File Comments with NLRB and DOL

You can easily and quickly file brief comments noting your opposition to the NLRB and DOL proposed regulations by clicking on the link below and sending an e-mail to the agencies. It only takes a few minutes! Sample text is provided, or you can edit and add comments of your own in the e-mail. Just click here and follow the instructions.

You also may use this website to e-mail your representatives in Congress and ask them to take action to block the NLRB and DOL proposals through legislative action, and NRCA recommends that you do so.

The website that facilitates the filing of comments with NLRB and DOL is operated by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which consists of hundreds of business organizations working together to oppose card check and other unbalanced proposals regarding union representation. NRCA serves on the CDW Steering Committee and is actively working to protect the rights of employers from these radical proposals.

Again, please file your comments with NLRB and DOL so your voice is heard.

Click here to view NRCA's comments on the NLRB proposed regulation (PDF).

Click here to view NRCA's comments on the DOL proposed regulation (PDF).

If you have questions, comments and/or wish to inform NRCA that you have contacted NLRB and DOL as requested (which is encouraged), please contact Duane Musser, NRCA's vice president of government relations, at (800) 338-5765 or dmusser@nrca.net.