CDW Members:
Today, the NLRB released its final "ambush elections" rule, which will be published in tomorrow's federal register. The advanced copy is available here. Last night, the Board posted information about the rule on its website, you may view that here.
CDW has already filed suit along with the US Chamber of Commerce, our joint complaint is posted here and the CDW statement here.
Happy Holidays - Geoff
CDW Members:
CDW just issued a statement on yesterday's letter from all 47 Republican Senators asking that the President not attempt to recess appoint his recent nominees, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, to the NLRB. You can find our statement here and more on the letter from the Republican Senators here
There has been speculation the last few weeks about the President attempting to recess Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee, Richard Cordray and potentially some NLRB nominees. Without new appointments, the Board will no longer be able to perform certain functions when Member Becker's recess appointment expires at the end of this Senate Session, and the Board drops down to 2 members, which is less than a quorum of the full 5 member Board.
The President's nomination of Block and Griffin last week increased speculation. The announcement of the nominations is available here. A recent article on the issue in the Hill is available here.
On a different note, there was a hearing yesterday in our lawsuit in DC Federal District Court challenging the NLRB's posting requirement. The judge suggested the NLRB extend the effective date of the rule further to allow her to draft the opinion and permit possible appeals. We will keep you posted on whether the NLRB does so and any other developments in the suit.
Lastly, while we would all prefer a quiet break, we expect the NLRB will be issuing the Ambush Rule sometime shortly and may also issue several troubling decisions. We will keep you posted.
Enjoy your holidays.
Geoff Burr
CDW Members:
Yesterday, the House voted 235 to 188 in favor of H.R. 3094, the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act. Details on the vote on the bill and the various amendments are set forth below. CDW's final letter is available here; 243 organizations signed on. Our statement about the vote is available here. We will be working to ensure the bill receives some attention in the Senate.
In addition, yesterday the NLRB held a hearing where they voted 2 to 1 in favor of a resolution offered by Chairman Mark Pearce to streamline the ambush election proposed rule. Member Craig Becker and Chairman Pearce voted in favor of the proposal, while Member Brian Hayes dissented, criticizing the substance of the proposal as well as the Board's failure to follow procedural rules. The Board will now move forward with drafting a final rule based on the Chairman's resolution.
Based on the resolution, we expect the final rule in the next few weeks. The rule will not contain some of the more widely discussed aspects of the proposed rule, such as the 7 day period for a hearing and the requirement employers release employee phone numbers and email addresses. The final rule, nonetheless, is still expected to significantly truncate the time period for elections and deprive employers of many due process rights. In short, the streamlined rule would radically change election procedures in an effort to promote rapid, increased unionization at the expense of employees and employers. Littler has a post with more details here. You can view CDW's comments on the original proposed rule here. We will be watching closely and will keep you posted. The Board's information about the hearing, including a video archive that will be posted later today, is available here.
Geoffrey Burr
Vice President, Federal Affairs
Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc.
4250 N. Fairfax Drive, 9th Floor
Arlington, VA 22203
LEGISLATIVE DETAIL FOR H.R. 3094
Motion to Rise with Recommendation that Enacting Clause be Stricken – FAILED 176-241; Roll Call 863
Republican YEA – 0; NAY – 233
Democrat YEA – 176; NAY – 8
Bishop (D-NY): Amendment No. 1—Requires that the attorney or filing party meet certain standards before filing and would give the Board authority to impose sanctions on a party for presenting a frivolous or vexatious filing during pre-election proceedings. – FAILED 187-228; Roll Call 864
Republican YEA – 6; NAY – 226
Democrat YEA – 181; NAY – 2
Boswell (D-IA): Amendment No. 2—Prohibits employers that have paid any executive compensation bonuses in excess of 10,000 percent of the annual compensation of the average employee from raising relevant and material issues during a pre-election hearing – FAILED 181-239; Roll Call 865
Republican YEA – 3; NAY – 230
Democrat YEA – 178; NAY – 9
Walz (D-MN): Amendment No. 3—Prevents this Act from applying to employers that have been found liable for any labor law violation against a veteran of the Armed Forces during the 1-year period preceding the filing of a petition from raising relevant and material issues during a pre-election hearing – FAILED 200-221; Roll Call 866
Republican YEA – 14; NAY – 220
Democrat YEA – 186; NAY – 1
Jackson Lee (D-TX): Amendment No. 4—Strikes the section of the bill that would ensure employees have adequate time to educate themselves about unionization – FAILED 188-236;Roll Call 867
Republican YEA – 7; NAY – 229
Democrat YEA – 181; NAY – 7
Democrat Motion to Recommit – FAILED 185-239; Roll Call 868
Republican YEA – 1; NAY – 235
Democrat YEA – 184; NAY – 4
Republican voting YEA: Jones
Democrats voting NAY: Boren, Cooper, Cuellar, Matheson
Final Passage of H.R. 3094 — "To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to representation hearings and the timing of elections of labor organizations under that Act." –PASSED 235-188; Roll Call 869
Republican YEA – 229; NAY – 8
Democrat YEA – 6; NAY – 180
Republicans voting NAY: Grimm, Johnson (IL), King (NY), LaTourette, LoBiondo, Runyan, Smith (NJ), Young (AK)
Democrats voting YEA: Barrow, Boren, Cooper, Cuellar, Matheson, McIntyre
