The National Mediation Board (NMB) has finalized a new rule that is expected to make unionization easier for airline and railroad workers, but an airline industry group has filed a lawsuit to try to stop the change.
The NMB, which regulates labor issues at airlines and railroads, changed its rules so that unions will need to win only a majority of votes cast by workers who bother to vote in the election instead of having to win a majority of votes cast by all workers eligible to vote. The new election procedures are set to go into effect for union applications filed on or after June 10. The NMB published the final rule in the Federal Register on May 11.
The Air Transport Association (ATA), a trade organization for the airline industry, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 17. The organization said it filed the suit “seeking speedy review of the National Mediation Board final rule, which dramatically changes the procedures by which airline and rail industry union representation elections are conducted. This new rule turns 75 years of history on its head without compelling justification.”
In further explanation, the group said, “ATA believes that the National Mediation Board failed to identify any material change in circumstances to support the new election procedure – a procedure that it last rejected only two years ago. The NMB decision to abandon an election procedure that the Supreme Court twice has upheld, which has allowed unions to effectively organize the rail and aviation industries, and which has served the public interest in avoiding disruptions to the vital national aviation and rail transportation systems, is both disappointing and puzzling. ATA looks forward to a quick resolution to this case, so that airlines and their employees can move forward together and more efficiently address their mutual goals.”
Union officials praised the NMB’s rule change. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it “an important and essential step towards ensuring a more democratic process for airline and rail workers seeking representation in the workplace.” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa also applauded the rule, saying “By changing the rule, the NMB has leveled the playing field, giving workers a fairer chance to form unions.” He added that “It allows workers the right to sit out an election if they choose. Under the old rule, workers sitting out an election were viewed as casting ‘no’ votes.”
The rule change was passed by a majority of the three-member NMB, with Chairman Elizabeth Dougherty dissenting. She gave four reasons for her dissent:
- The timing and process surrounding this rule change harm the agency and suggest the issue has been prejudged.
- The majority has not articulated a rational basis for its action.
- The majority’s failure to amend its decertification and run-off procedures in light of its voting rule change reveals a bias in favor of representation and is fundamentally unfair.
- The majority’s inclusion of a write-in option on the yes/no ballot was not contemplated by the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and violates the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Attend the Labor Union Avoidance Master Class with attorneys in Nashville, Tennessee on June 10, 2010 or in Columbus, Ohio on June 17.