Employees will likely have a harder time voting out unions they no longer want to represent them if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalizes a proposed rule to rescind a 2020 amendment to the "blocking charge" rule. The board plans to issue a final rule in August, according to an April 12 memorandum from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who favors the rescission.
Delaying decertification elections through blocking charges is a way for a union to halt momentum when it believes employees would vote it out, according to David Pryzbylski, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis.
Under the 2020 change, union representation elections can go forward—potentially with impounded ballots—even if there is an open unfair labor practice charge that might require a rerun election, explained Jenn Betts, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Pittsburgh.
If the 2020 amendment is rescinded, the NLRB will let unions block an election by filing a charge alleging unlawful conduct by the employer that affected or will affect employee voting, as was the case before the rule change.
Such a move would likely have "widespread impact" on employers because a blocking charge is a tactic that unions often used prior to 2020 to delay elections, said Melissa Atkins, an attorney with Obermayer in Philadelphia. With a blocking charge, "the mere allegation will be sufficient to delay the conduct of the election until the charge is resolved," she said. "This is costly to...
Doha, Qatar: The International Media Office of the State of Qatar released a statement in response to false claims and fabricated reports in Israeli media. "Reports circulating in the Israeli medi...