U.S. Chamber Report Predicts Big Changes from National Labor Relations Board

'The NLRB has the ability to significantly increase union power and leverage without intervention by Congress' says Johnson

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released a report entitled The National Labor Relations Board in the Obama Administration: What Changes to Expect. The paper highlights more than 50 decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that are likely to be reversed during the Obama Administration.

The Report is especially timely with the nominations of three individuals to serve on the NLRB pending before the U.S. Senate. At the end of July, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to hold a hearing on the nomination of Craig Becker to the NLRB. In a letter sent by Executive Vice President for Government Relations R. Bruce Josten, the Chamber cited concern over several articles Becker has written articulating extreme views on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal law administered by the NLRB. Josten's letter also expressed concern about the potential for an "end-run around the legislative branch" given Becker's ties to the Service Employees International Union, an avid proponent of the "Employee Free Choice Act," and predictions by former NLRB-Chairman Gould that Becker could advance "Card Check" organizing through administrative action by the NLRB, regardless of what Congress does with the legislative proposal.

"The stage will soon be set for sweeping policy changes that have received scant attention," said Randel K. Johnson, the Chamber's senior vice president for Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits. "The NLRB has the ability to unduly increase union power and leverage without intervention by Congress. This report details how the NLRB might accomplish that."

The report reviews the biographies and some of the writings of the current board members and nominees, and discusses potential regulatory initiatives before the board. However, the focus of the report is a detailed discussion of cases that the NLRB has issued over the last administration that have been criticized by organized labor and from which one or more Democratic members of the board have dissented.

While some of the cases discussed by the report are high profile, such as the NLRB's decision in Dana/Metaldyne that effectively gave employees notice before a union and employer agree to bypass the law's secret ballot process for union recognition, others are much less well known. However, reversal of these technical rules, such as whether permanent strike replacement workers may be hired on an at-will basis, collectively will increase union leverage in every aspect of labor-management relations.

"These actions will tilt the balance in labor law dramatically in favor of unions and their ability to organize employers and negotiate more favorable contracts during collective bargaining," said Johnson.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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