Membership in labor unions has been falling for decades and is at an all-time low in the U.S. While there are many reasons for this decline, it is an indicator that many workers simply don't find unions as necessary as they once did.
But the National Labor Relations Board--an independent government agency formed in 1935 to enforce the National Labor Relations Act--doesn't see the reduced demand for unions as a good thing at all.
Whatever the reason, the board has become focused on increasing union membership rolls at almost any cost. This is not only inappropriate (the agency is supposed to act as an impartial referee); we believe it is also unlawful. The NLRB's latest rule--often referred to as the "ambush election" rule--is a case in point.
By accelerating the union election process, under the rule employers will be deprived of their right to adequately explain the potential upsides and downsides of unionizing to their employees. As an additional flaw, the rule would allow an election to take place even if a simple question--like who is eligible to vote--has not been answered. This would be like holding a congressional election before drawing up a district.
Adding insult to injury, the ambush election rule also compels employers to provide to unions some very personal information about their employees--home addresses, telephone numbers, shift schedules, work locations and, where available, personal email addresses. Employers will be forced to violate the privacy of their workers, and unions can then use this information to bombard potential recruits with pro-union messages.
The rule violates established law and statutory rights, but it also fails to make common sense. It seems unnecessary. As it is, 95 percent of all elections are conducted within two months, and unions win more than two-thirds of them. Trying to improve those statistics feels forced because it is.
Fortunately, the new Congress will have an opportunity to overturn this regulatory overreach, assuming the courts do not do so first. The NLRB needs a reminder that it should protect the right of American workers to join unions--not use its regulatory power to manipulate that choice.
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Randy Johnson is senior vice president for labor, immigration and employee benefits, and Glenn Spencer is vice president of the Workforce Freedom Initiative at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Editorial on 03/01/2015