MercuryUnionI have heard a lot of people talking about the Employee Free Choice Act and the changes that will come with it.  Yes, it is currently on the table in Washington, just not the number one issue on Obama’s plate.  Regardless if the bill passes or not, I can guarantee that Labor Reform will happen and businesses must prepare for it.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), is very volatile by nature.  Most people know about the NRLB, but do you know how it is structured and how it works? 

The NLRB is consist of five members, who are appointed by the President for a five-year term.  “Traditionally two of the members have management background, while two more are aligned with organized labor.”  The fifth person is a swing person, primarily used for voting purposes and may come from either side, pending on what the President decides.

The NLRB primary purpose to manage and implement new rules for unions, not laws.  This does not limit them from proposing new bills to the President.  These rules and policies arise from case decisions, decisions that can be appealed in federal court.  Normally the board doesn’t like making huge changes, the fear is that with the new NLRB members, that President Obama will put in place, will aggressively use the power to change rules and policies to reform the union marketplace.

Currently Wilma Liebman is the Board Chairperson, who often was the “swing vote” and outspoken critic of decisions from the Bush-era.  Before she appointed on the board she served as legal counsel to the Teamsters union.  There is one other person currently on the board from the Bush Administration,  Peter Shaumberg, a Republican.

Some potential nominees for the remaining seats include:

Craig Becker: A Service Employee International Union (SEIU) council member, has drawn the most fears from employers.  Why?  He is pro-union and has expressed aversion to the so-called captive audience meetings and an insistence upon “equal access” for unions.

Mark Pearce: Union-side Attorney

Once the NLRB members are in place with Chairperson Liebman, they will become a very formidable aggressive pro-union team who will presumably push for several things.  The first is eliminating restrictions on employees to communicate during work through email about forming a union.  This was put in place back in 2007.  Other employer areas of concern include the right to counsel non-union employees outside of the presence of a representative, excluding temporary workers and front-line supervisors from bargaining units, and the long-standing entitlement to permanently replace economic strikers.

So how do you prepare for this potentially strong union push?  There are several things that you need to look at and do.  Everything from discussing this with your management team, to reviewing your employee recognition program, to constantly communicating with your employees to ensure that they are happy.

I strongly suggest having a strategic planning meeting with management to established a well-rounded Union Prevention Plan.  This meeting will look at all aspects of your employee relations program.  Specifically, your employee recognition program.  Are you really paying attention to what your employees are talking about?  The following people need to be involved in this meeting:

  1. CEO/President
  2. Vice President
  3. Human Resources Director/ Manager
  4. Director of Operations
  5. CFO/Controller/VP of Finance
  6. Anyone else who is involved with business decision-making

I have provided a free Management Meeting Agenda outline for you to use.  This is a basic outline that can help you get started.  If you would like assistants structuring a solid agenda for the meeting that fits your business or if you have any questions on this topic, please let me know.