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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) unveiled a new ruling on Friday that introduces a revised framework to determine situations in which employers are obligated to engage in collective bargaining with unions, bypassing the necessity for a formal representation election.
In the recent ruling involving Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, the NLRB determined that if a union seeks acknowledgment from an employer based on a demonstrated majority of workers identifying the union as their representative, the employer must promptly decide between recognizing and commencing negotiations with the union or submitting a petition for an election.
Nevertheless, the NLRB clarified that if the employer engages in unfair labor practices capable of impeding the election process, the petition will be dismissed, and the employer will be mandated to acknowledge and engage in negotiations with the union.
This fresh approach, termed the Cemex standard, revives a segment of the historical 1949 Joy Silk standard. The Joy Silk standard required employers to initiate negotiations with a union unless there was a bona fide doubt that the union represented the majority of the workers in question. While not a complete reinstatement of Joy Silk, the Cemex standard does overturn a precedent established in the NLRB’s 1971 Linden Lumber decision.
NLRB stated that this novel standard is designed to enhance equitable elections by “more effectively discouraging employers from engaging in unfair labor practices.”
NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran emphasized, “The Cemex decision reaffirms that elections are not the exclusive route to seek union representation, while simultaneously ensuring that, in instances of elections, they transpire within a fair electoral environment. Under the Cemex doctrine, employers are granted the option to utilize the board’s electoral procedure, yet are prohibited from exploiting it.”
The Cemex case pertains to an incident wherein the NLRB found that the employer had committed over 20 instances of unacceptable or illegal misconduct during the period between filing an election petition and the actual election.
Critics of the decision, such as the National Right to Work Foundation, argue that Cemex effectively compels employers to surrender their workforce to union control following “card check” campaigns.
Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, criticized the decision, asserting, “The Biden NLRB has reached new depths with the Cemex decision, predictably discarding workers’ individual rights and bestowing Big Labor with unchecked authority to subject workers to their alleged ‘representation.’ By substituting union assertions of support through ‘card check’ processes for confidential ballot elections, the genuine voluntary support of workers during an election will no longer hinder union leaders set on expanding their influence and mandatory dues revenue through any conceivable means.”
The board’s members voted 3-1 along partisan lines in the resolution to overturn Linden Lumber, with the sole Republican appointee, Marvin Kaplan, concurring and partially dissenting from the majority stance.
