When is a Law Not A Law? When it Applies to Workers and
Their Rights

Appeals court blocks gov't rule on union posters

by Sam Hananel, Associated Press

NPR - National Public Radio
April 17, 2012

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=150808627

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday
temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board from
making millions of businesses put up posters informing
workers of their right to form a union.

The rule requiring most private employers to display the
posters was supposed to take effect on April 30, but the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said that
can't happen until legal questions are resolved.

The temporary injunction followed a federal judge's ruling
in South Carolina last week that the labor board exceeded
congressional authority when it approved the poster
requirement in 2011. A federal judge in Washington, D.C.,
had previously found the NLRB rule acceptable, but limited
how the agency could enforce it.

Business groups have complained the posters are an unfair
government effort to promote union organizing. The labor
board contends the posters help workers more clearly
understand their rights and protections under federal labor
law.

National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay
Timmons called the appeals court's injunction "a positive
step in overturning this harmful rule."

"The 'posting requirement' is an unprecedented attempt by
the board to assert power and authority it does not
possess," Timmons said.

NLRB chairman Mark Pearce said the board would instruct its
regional offices not to apply the poster rule while
litigation is pending. He said the board would appeal the
adverse South Carolina ruling, as well as the part of the
Washington, D.C., ruling that restricts how the rule can be
enforced.

"We continue to believe that requiring employers to post
this notice is well within the board's authority and that it
provides a genuine service to employees who may not
otherwise know their rights under our law," Pearce said in a
written statement.

The NLRB rule requires more than 6 million businesses to
post an 11-by-17-inch notice in a prominent location
explaining the right of workers to join a union and bargain
collectively to improve wages and working conditions. The
posters also explain that workers have a right not to join a
union and that it is illegal for union officials to coerce
employees into unionizing.

Similar government posters explaining federal anti-
discrimination laws and workplace safety rules are already
fixtures in company break rooms. But U.S. District Judge
David Norton, in his ruling last Friday in South Carolina,
said federal laws specifically allow government agencies to
require the display of those posters at work sites. By
contrast, Norton said, the National Labor Relations Act
contains no such language.

NLRB attorneys argued the board has the authority to require
posters even without specific congressional approval.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans said Tuesday they would join a
separate lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's recess
appointments to the NLRB. The lawsuit, pending in Washington
state, argues that Obama illegally bypassed the Senate to
appoint three members to the board in January.

The White House claims the Senate was in recess, but
Republicans claim they effectively blocked recess
appointments by scheduling a series of brief, pro-forma
sessions.

Miguel Estrada, a former senior Justice Department official,
will write a supporting brief on behalf of Senate
Republicans.

==========

___________________________________________

Portside aims to provide material of interest to people
on the left that will help them to interpret the world
and to change it.

Submit via email: [log in to unmask]

Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3

Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq

Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe

Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive

Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate