Labor

Labor Ups Pressure On Lawmakers To Nix Union-Busting House Bill

Brian Beutler | March 28, 2011, 9:34AM

Labor activists are preparing to step up their advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill ahead of a key vote on a union-busting measure later this week, according to sources familiar with their campaign.

The stepped up effort comes as anti-union activists are preparing efforts of their own, in order to make it harder for aviation and rail workers to unionize.

At issue is House legislation to renew FAA programs, which includes a provision that would reinstitute old rules governing how the National Mediation Board counts workers' votes. Under the current system, a simple majority of those voting wins, just like in, say, the House of Representatives. If Republicans get their way, those rules will change, and workers who don't vote will be tallied as having voted "no."

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Labor

Some Republicans Oppose Anti-Unionization Measure Creeping Through Congress

Brian Beutler | March 10, 2011, 9:47AM

The most high-profile fights between conservatives and unions have played out in Wisconsin and other states across the country. But another one is brewing at the federal level, where Republicans are trying to change the law to make it harder for aviation and rail workers to unionize. But several Republicans have broken ranks with their party, and labor activists see them as an opportunity.

The FAA reauthorization bill winding its way through the House would re-establish old rules, which say that if a worker doesn't vote in a unionization election, their heads will still be counted as "no" votes.

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