The Senate this week passed a resolution of disapproval that would block a proposed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule to let unions speed up workplace elections to represent employees in collective bargaining. The measure passed on a vote of 53-46, largely on party lines.
The current average time for a union election to be held is 38 days after a petition is filed with the NLRB, but the “ambush election” regulations being sought by labor could speed up the process to as few as 11 days, giving businesses little time to prepare. The union election rule would also require companies to turn over employees’ personal cellphone numbers and email addresses to labor organizers.
Republicans employed a seldom-used Congressional Review Act (CRA) to stop the NLRB rule, a strategy that prevents opponents from blocking the measure. Under the CRA statute, Congress can formally disapprove of regulations with a simple majority, as opposed to the 60 votes typically required to overcome the threat of a filibuster. Congress has only successfully used the CRA once, which was in 2001, when Republicans repealed the Clinton administration’s controversial ergonomics rule aimed at curbing workplace injuries.
This week, the House Education and Workforce Committee considered its own disapproval resolution, and the bill is expected to be voted out of committee and sent to the floor in the coming weeks. Even if the House passes a similar measure, the White House has threatened a veto. The Senate would need 67 votes to override the President Obama’s veto. Republicans have acknowledged they are unlikely to meet that threshold, considering no Democrats voted for the measure this week.
In January, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, and the Society for Human Resource Management filed a lawsuit against the NLRB on this issue.
