Washington, DC (February 24, 2011) – The National Right to Work Foundation, which provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, submitted comments criticizing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposal to implement new rules governing the notification of employee rights. Foundation attorneys say that the rules are not authorized by the National Labor Relations Act and would unfairly benefit union organizers.
Under current law, employers can be required to post notices of workers’ rights only when a violation of labor law has been proven in an unfair labor practice case. The proposed rules, however, would require every employer to post incomplete information about employee rights online and in the workplace, even if they’ve never been found to have committed unfair labor practices.
Under the proposed rules, every private-sector employer in the country would have to inform workers about their rights to organize, support a union, and engage in union activities such as strikes. However, the proposed notice would not tell workers in states that allow agreements requiring union “membership” as a condition of employment that they have a right to resign at any time from a union and not pay union dues for political and other non-bargaining activities. The proposed notice also fails to inform workers in Right to Work states that they cannot be required to join or pay anything to a union to keep their jobs.
Union officials, on the other hand, are not required to post any notices under the proposed rules. In non-Right to Work states, workers do not have to be informed that an organizing campaign could result in the mandatory payment of union dues as a condition of employment. The proposed rules also fail to require union organizers to explain to workers exactly what signing means when presented with union authorization cards during controversial “card check” organizing drives.
The proposed rules are the result of a biased and ideologically-charged Labor Board, which prioritizes advancing union officials’ interests over providing truthful and accurate information to employees. The agency’s forced unionism tilt is on display for all to see.
“The proposed rule changes are just the latest example of the NLRB’s biased approach to labor law,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “If the NLRB was really interested in protecting workers, they’d inform them of the dangers of coercive ‘card check’ drives and publicize their rights, under law, to remove an unwanted union.”
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
