Speeding labor elections would deny companies a fair chance of persuading workers to reject organized representation, employers are telling U.S. regulators.

The National Labor Relations Board, which investigates unfair-labor practices, is considering adoption of steps sought by unions that would lead to quicker votes. More than 60 speakers are scheduled to testify before the board on the proposed rule today and tomorrow.

“I assure you, we all have open minds,” NLRB Chairman Wilma Liebman said today as the hearing began.

Faster elections would be a win for labor, which has lost fights this year to stop Republican governors from curbing public-employee unions in states such as Wisconsin and Ohio. Speakers include representatives from about 14 unions, 10 businesses or business groups, and academics. Law-firm consultants who help companies block unions also testified.

“Quickie elections quite simply can create an ill-informed electorate by not providing a reasonable time for all employees to hear the other side of the story,” from companies, said Arnold E. Perl, a lawyer with Memphis, Tennessee-based Glankler Brown PLLC who is representing the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.

The changes would be “modest and incremental,” said Amy Bachelder, with Sachs Waldman PC in Detroit, a law firm that works for unions. “Delay is often used as a tactic in a union election,” she said.

Depriving Employers

The proposal is “designed to deprive employers of representation,” Charles Cohen, an attorney at Morgan Lewis and Bockius LLP, said in prepared testimony.

Click here for Full Article

By Stephanie Armour for Bloomberg

##