November 2011

A quick update at the end of an active day for NLRB news –

At its meeting this afternoon, the Board voted to approve Chairman Pearce’s resolution which moves forward the preparation of a final rule on some of the Board’s proposed rules related to the timing and procedure of representation elections. The vote was 2-1, with Member Hayes voting against. (Hayes also acknowledged the speculation over his resignation and said that he ultimately decided not to resign because he believed that his resignation would cause harm to the agency just as the proposed rules would and that he could not be credibly critical of the proposed rules if he had decided to resign.) Video of the hearing will be posted on the Board’s website when available.

Also reported this afternoon was a rumored agreement between Boeing and the Machinists union which would resolve the on-going NLRB case against Boeing related to its movement of work to a plant in South Carolina. It appears the agreement would allow Boeing to keep production of its 787 aircraft in South Carolina in exchange for a commitment to build its new 737 MAX aircraft in Washington.

Check back later in the week for more analysis of these developments.

See also:

“Labor Board Moves Ahead With Union Rules” (NPR)

“NLRB Passes Revised Rules to Speed Union Organizing Votes” (WSJ)

“Boeing, Machinists reach sweeping agreement” (Seattle Times)

“Boeing, union in early deal, would end NLRB case” (Reuters)

As mentioned in our post earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board has scheduled a vote tomorrow afternoon on some of its “quickie election” rules proposed earlier this year.  The Board has just released an update on tomorrow’s vote with the full text of the resolution to be voted upon. Apparently, at tomorrow’s meeting the discussion is to focus on the process for the final regulation, which will then be voted on sometime before Member Becker leaves the Board at the end of the year. Also, in response to Member Hayes’ letter to Rep. Kline, Board Chairman Pearce has disclosed that Hayes allegedly threatened to resign from the Board so it would lose its quorum and ability to act on the regulation unless Hayes gets his way on process. Obviously, this is a fluid situation but tomorrow's NLRB meeting should be interesting.

The meeting, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST, is open to the public and will be broadcast live via webcast on the Board’s website. Check back after the vote for an analysis of this issue.

See also:

"Strategic resignation by Member Hayes may derail scheduled Board vote on “quickie election” rules" (BT Labor Relations post from earlier today)

"Labor Board Facing Possible Shutdown Over Union Rule Dispute" (Fox News)

"Labor Board looks to advance quick election rule" (Reuters)

One of the Board’s more controversial moves this year was the proposal of new rules to expedite the representation election process, allowing so-called “quickie elections.” After a two-day hearing in July and more than 65,000 written comments received, the Board has scheduled a vote tomorrow on whether to adopt new rules.

It’s not exactly clear, however, just which proposed rules the Board intends to vote on. The Board’s press release says that the November 30 vote is planned on “a small number of the amendments to its election procedures that the Board proposed earlier this year,” but there is no indication which of the proposed changes the Board intends to vote on.

Complicating matters further, there has been a significant amount of speculation over the last few days about whether the sole Republican member of the Board, Brian Hayes, will resign prior to the vote. Member Hayes has already indicated his disapproval of the vote in a letter to U.S. Rep. John Kline, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent last week. If he resigns, he would leave the Board with only two members and lacking a quorum under the U.S. Supreme Court’s New Process Steel decision. Presumably under such a scenario, any vote taken by the remaining two Board members would not be effective.

Whether or not Member Hayes determines that such a drastic step is necessary to prevent the vote is still up in the air. Either way, it’s shaping up to be a very interesting week at the National Labor Relations Board. Stay tuned.

See also:

"Labor Board Member Threatens to Resign" (WSJ)

"Republican Might Quit Labor Board" (NY Times)

"Labor Board May Speed Union Votes" (NY Times)

Welcome to our blog! 

Managed by experienced labor law attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, the BT Labor Relations blog aims to be a source for news, analysis, and commentary on traditional labor legal issues. With contributors from Barnes and Thornburg’s offices around the country, we provide a national perspective on labor law issues affecting employers across all industries. While we intend to focus on the National Labor Relations Board and the private sector, expect occasional posts on state labor issues and public employees as well.

It has been a fascinating year in the traditional labor realm, and we expect 2012 to be just as active. 

See our summary of 2011 NLRB highlights after the jump.