How to form a union...2011 style

Read the original here.

Barry’s Backdoors, Vol. 1, No. 1: Forcing The Union Label On Unsuspecting Workers

There are some basic truths in the American model. We loveelections[1]. We create hierarchies constantly. If someone wants to be the voice of the group, we’re very willing to let them do that. Tell us your thoughts and plans, perhaps we’ll have more than one wanting to be that voice, and we’ll get together and pick the voice. If only one person wants to be the voice, we might vote whether or not to even have a singular voice speaking for all us. We don’t have to have one.

And when the role of a singular voice is important enough, we’ll want to ensure that everyone votes. We want everyone’s opinion. Consider a family decision. While us parents know the game – the only eligible voters[2] are mom and dad – we’ll elicit opinions of the kids at a family meeting. Sometimes we learn something. Then mom and dad “vote” on what to do: Move to another state for a job, change churches, or move in gramma for the rest of her Earthly existence.

Now assume that mom comes home from work one day to find her mother-in-law in the living room and boxes stacked where mom’s car used to be parked in the garage. Assessing the situation, she determines that it’s best to wait for her husband[3] to come home. She waits ever so impatiently, distracted, naturally enough, by the piercingly high volume of the television.

Husband arrives. Story proceeds: ”Well, just like we always do, I held a family meeting to get everyone’s ideas, and then I voted on whether or not to move her in. I voted ‘yes’.” Wife responds, “I don’t recall that particular meeting.” Husband, “Of course not. You weren’t there.”

And therein lies the change the Obama Administration[4] has effected for creating unions in the railroad and airline industries.

The Railway Labor Act of 1926 (expanded in 1936 to include airlines) has a fairly simple mechanism[5] for creating a labor union:

The RLA contemplates that employees will be represented on a carrier-wide basis through crafts or classes of employees (e.g., railroad engineers and airline pilots), and that the majority of the employees in each class or craft may select a bargaining representative. Representational disputes include issues of whether: (1) a majority of a craft or class of employees desire to be represented by a particular union or to be unrepresented; (2) a union’s certification survives a merger; and (3) two related carriers will be treated as one (or two) for representation purposes. The RLA commits representational disputes to the exclusive jurisdiction of the NMB, and requires the NMB, upon the request of either party to a dispute among a carrier’s employees, to investigate and certify bargaining representatives for a class or craft. A carrier is required to deal with the representatives certified to it by the NMB.

That emphasis is mine. It means that dad had better include mom in the vote as to whether to bring gramma into the house. The entire class is counted – every machinists, or both mom and dad. To form a union or move in gramma requires a majority of the entire class.

There is an alternative, and National Mediation Board, dominated by Obama[6] appointees, chose it: Rather than a majority vote of the entire class, a union could be formed by only a majority of those voting – ergo, dad.

It’s logical, right? It’s what we do with elections[7] all the time. Ah, not when it comes to gramma moving in. Gramma will suck all the oxygen out of the room while we’re home, and when we’re at work she’ll be installing satellite television, canceling the Internet, and having the grass in the yard replaced with white pebbles. She’ll make the decisions that she feels are best, and will send you the bill afterward – just like union dues and unfunded pensions.

And the NMB decision is not a Conservative’s fiction[8]:

AirTran Airways’ 2,900 fleet employees and passenger service and reservation employees have voted to be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union and theNational Mediation Board said Monday.

The union would have lost under the old NMB rules governing union representation elections, rules that were changed last year. They won under the new rules.

The NMB said 2,904 employees were eligible to vote. Under the old rules that required a union to get a majority of the eligible votes, the Machinists would have needed 1,453 votes in favor.

Instead, it won by a 978-870 vote. Under the new rules, the union needs only to get a majority of the votes cast, not a majority of the votes eligible to be cast

That was just a couple of days ago. 978 machinists – 475 less than a simple majority – committed all 2,904 machinists to join the union. Gramma moved in, and mom wasn’t consulted.

The unions have a twist[9] to not consulting mom:


Under the old NMB voting rules, any worker who did not vote in a union representation election was automatically counted as a vote against the union.

They say it like that’s a bad thing. But, that’s right, boys and girls: If we’re discussing something fundamental to our lives, I have to assume your mom wants the status quo unless she informs me otherwise.

And now Congress[10] is stepping up to ensure that mom gets her vote. The FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011[11] is up in the House. It will achieve the status quo ante of requiring a majority of all workers in a class in order to create a union. And it also reasserts the role of Congress to set such fundamental changes in labor law.

And the latter, I suggest, is just as important as the former. The Obama Administration is known for its backdoors. From EPA regs to HHS Obamacare[12] to NMB unionization rules, what they can’t get through legislation, they do through regulation – and then Obama vetoes anything that overrides it. Yes, there is a violation of the Constitutional Separation of Powers here. And it will catch up to him.

For today, let’s ensure that Veto Pen is well-inked. It’s not just a 2012 campaign commercial. Mom is counting on you. Contact Congress[13] … now, kindly.
Related Posts
Wisconsin Senate votes to strip union bargaining rights for public workers[14]
Boeing workers vote to decertify union[15]
Look For the Union Label [Reader Post][16]
Obama’s SOTU school got better by offing teachers and union[17]
Gov. Walker’s administration stops collecting union dues, starts charging for health care[18]

Short URL: http://libertypundits.net/?p=29932

References
^ elections (libertypundits.net)
^ voters (libertypundits.net)
^ husband (libertypundits.net)
^ Obama Administration (libertypundits.net)
^ fairly simple mechanism (www.fra.dot.gov)
^ Obama (libertypundits.net)
^ elections (libertypundits.net)
^ is not a Conservative’s fiction (aviationblog.dallasnews.com)
^ unions have a twist (www.goiam.org)
^ Congress (libertypundits.net)
^ FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 (www.opencongress.org)
^ Obamacare (libertypundits.net)
^ Contact Congress (www.contactingthecongress.org)
^ Wisconsin Senate votes to strip union bargaining rights for public workers (libertypundits.net)
^ Boeing workers vote to decertify union (libertypundits.net)
^ Look For the Union Label [Reader Post] (libertypundits.net)
^ Obama’s SOTU school got better by offing teachers and union (libertypundits.net)
^ Gov. Walker’s administration stops collecting union dues, starts charging for health care(libertypundits.net)