Fact Sheets

 
THE PROBLEM

In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalized a new rule that dramatically alters long-standing policies governing union elections. The board’s ambush election rule arbitrarily limits the ability of employers to legally prepare for union elections, delays answers to important questions – like voter eligibility – until after the election, gives workers as little as 11 days to consider all the facts about joining a union before casting their ballots, and requires employers to provide their employees’ personal information to union leaders, including email addresses, work schedules, phone numbers, and home addresses. As a result of these changes, the ambush election rule will:

• Restrict the right of employers to speak to employees during a union organizing campaign;
                 
• Cripple the right of workers to make an informed decision about whether to join a union;
                              
• Deny workers, employers, and union members access to a fair union election process; and
                                                        
• Jeopardize the privacy and safety of workers and their families.

THE SOLUTION:

The NLRB’s ambush election rule is part of a culture of union favoritism that is hurting workers and employers. In an effort to prevent the activist NLRB from imposing sweeping changes on our workplaces, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) introduced H.J. Res. 29, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act that will block the board’s ambush election rule, preserving fair election policies that have been in place for decades. An identical resolution (S. J. Res. 8), sponsored by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), passed the Senate on March 4.

H.J. Res. 29/S.J. Res. 8:

• Stops the NLRB from rewriting union election policies that have served workers, employers, and unions well for decades;
                               
• Ensures employers can continue to communicate with employees before workers cast their ballots;
                                              
• Preserves the right of workers to make informed decisions about whether to join a union; and
                              
• Safeguards the privacy rights of workers and their families.                                                    

To download a PDF of this fact sheet, click here.

# # #