NLRB: Federal Law Pre-Empts State Secret-Ballot Amendments
Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took steps to enforce workers’ rights as guaranteed by U.S. law. The board advised the attorneys general of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah that so-called secret ballot amendments to their state constitutions are pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act, which offers workers two paths to choosing a union.
The board also has authorized its acting general counsel to file federal lawsuits, if necessary, to stop the states from enforcing the laws. The amendments have already taken effect in South Dakota and Utah and are expected to become effective soon in Arizona and South Carolina.
Under the federal law, workers may choose a union by voting in a secret-ballot election conducted by the NLRB or they may persuade an employer to voluntarily recognize the union after a majority sign authorization cards. Because the state amendments in question prohibit the voluntary recognition option, they “interfere with the exercise of a well-established federally protected right,” the NLRB said in a release.
You can read the NLRB release here.
Corporate-Backed, Anti-Union ‘Secret Ballot’ Measures Pass in Four States
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While most voters were focused on the economy in Tuesday’s elections, a corporate front group slipped in constitutional amendments in four states—Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah—in an orchestrated attempt to pre-empt the proposed federal Employee Free Choice Act. If enacted, the Employee Free Choice Act would give workers more options when they consider joining a union.
The four so-called “Secret Ballot” Amendments all contained similar language. For example, the Arizona measure, known as Prop. 113, would “guarantee” the right to vote by secret ballot in “elections for public office or public votes on initiatives or referenda, or designations or authorizations of employee representation.”
14 Senators Urge Unemployment Extension
More than 1 million people hurt by the bad economy are at risk of losing their unemployment insurance by the end of the year. During the toughest economic crisis in more than a generation, 7,000 people every day are seeing their UI expiring—and it’s due to the petty obstructionism of two senators who are blocking the needed extension of UI benefits.
This afternoon, 14 senators from across the country joined together to urge swift passage of a UI extension, to give workers access to the system they’ve paid into and to keep families and communities economically secure. With unemployment officially at 9.8 percent and an estimated 26 million out of work or discouraged, we can’t wait any longer to extend UI.
