NLRB Re-Proposes "Quickie Election" Rule

On Feb. 5, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) re-issued a proposed rule that would expedite the election process in union representation cases, likely to unions’ advantage. The rule appears to be identical to a rule proposed back in 2011.  A shortened version was finalized and took effect in 2012, but was invalidated by a court on procedural grounds shortly thereafter.  The NLRB recently withdrew its appeal of the court’s decision and formally rescinded the rule. The changes proposed in the re-issued, more comprehensive rule include: shortening the time between the filing of the petition and the holding of the election; eliminating pre-election hearings; expanding the information that employers must disclose about employees to include e-mail addresses and telephone numbers; and rendering post-election review by the Board discretionary. As AGC explained in comments to the 2011 proposed rule, the rule would be particularly difficult to apply in the construction industry due to a number of unique aspects of the industry, including the complexity of bargaining unit and voter eligibility determination, and the decentralized nature of the workplace. Regarding the proposed mandatory disclosure of employee e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, recent cases have illustrated how construction unions might misuse such information. AGC is also concerned that the proposed rule might lead to unintended consequences in the realm of increased litigation and protracted legislative fights at both the federal and state levels. AGC is presently considering its response to the re-issued proposed rule, as is the AGC-supported Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.  Comments are due April 7, 2014. For more information, please contact Jim Young at youngj@agc.org or Denise Gold at goldd@agc.org.