Get the Facts on Bush’s Anti-Worker NLRB

by James Parks, Jul 17, 2006

Last week, nurses, construction workers, miners and thousands of other workers took part in actions nationwide to demand the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protect their rights. In a series of cases known as Kentucky River, the Bush-appointed board soon will decide whether nurses, building and construction trades workers, journalists and others are “supervisors.” If the NLRB expands the definition of supervisor to include such workers, they will lose their federally protected right to join a union. The NLRB has refused to hear oral arguments on the cases—and has denied union requests to hear oral arguments in these cases.

While workers were marching in the streets, experts issued several reports and statements supporting what workers know all too well: The Bush-backed NLRB is taking away their freedom to form unions. 

Here’s a sample:

• The Economic Policy Institute’s report, Supervisor in Name Only, concluded if the NLRB expands the definition of supervisor, the action could effectively bar 8 million workers from forming unions. The report breaks down the various job classifications that will lose union and collective bargaining rights if the NLRB redefines who is a “supervisor.” 
• A report by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), President Bush’s National Labor Relations Board Rolls Back Labor Protections, highlights how the NLRB is stacked with anti-union board members and examines several cases where the board has eliminated or curtailed workers’ right to join a union.
• Thirty labor law professors signed a letter to the NLRB urging the NLRB to hold oral arguments in Kentucky River, a case they describe as among the most important in the 71 years of board jurisprudence. Because the cases have been pending for 34 months, the professors argue an additional delay to hold oral argument will be justified by making sure the board can consider all the ramifications of its decisions.
• The worker advocacy group, American Rights at Work, published a report, Workers Anticipate Reversal Of Rights From Bush-Appointed Labor Board, which reviews the  history of the Bush-appointed NLRB’s decisions. The report also provides a look at the legal issues and implications of the Kentucky River cases for workers.

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