New Labor Regulations May Prevent Workers from Organizing
Feature Story by MIchael Harmon - 10/23/2006
On a party-line vote, the National Labor Relations Board recently laid down a ruling on September 29 that could have drastic consequences for millions of workers who want to unionize.The new regulations come as a result of the NLRB's decision on the "Kentucky River" cases, where the Board ruled to significantly broaden the classification of supervisor to include individuals that perform as a little as 10 percent of their jobs on routine supervisory tasks.
The ruling threatens to purge union membership since under current labor law, individuals classified as supervisors are not only barred from joining unions, but also must give up their union membership if promoted to supervisory status. Some 8 million Americans may lose their right to organize.
"Today's decisions are a radical attack on workers' freedom and on their abilities to provide for their families. They mean that hundreds of thousands of nurses--and potentially millions of other middle class workers--could be unable to advocate for decent pay and benefits and reasonable work arrangements. The ultimate consequence of these decisions is that nurses and other workers will wind up with lower pay, more meager benefits, and worse working conditions," said Rep. George Miller, D. Ca.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, Americans working in either the medical or construction fields are the most likely to be affected by the changes.
In a scathing dissent, the NLRB's two Democratic members argued that the changes may create a subclass of employees--those who are denied the full protections of regular employees, while being denied many of the benefits of management.
President Bush's appointees hold three of the five seats on the NLRB. All three voted in favor of the regulation.
"The right to organize shouldn't be a partisan issue--it's a matter of civil and human rights. If we deny our workers' the most fundamental right to organize, we risk not being able to protect our workers' rights in the future," said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
The long term implications of the new regulations, however, threaten more than the individual worker. Civil and labor rights groups say that the entire organized labor movement is in jeopardy.
According to Anna Burger, chairwoman of the Change to Win labor coalition, the NLRB's "Bush appointed majority has created a blueprint for eliminating the right to union representation for most professionals and from millions of lead persons and employees who are currently represented. Contrary to what the Bush majority says, this decision is not legally required, but is another in a growing string of decisions that further narrow the right to organize."
While the Board's decision is likely to be appealed to Congress, labor unions have already begun to organize nationwide opposition. The California Nurses Association has already received pledges to strike from over 30,000 workers should hospitals try to enforce the new regulations.
"If the administration expects us to take this quietly, they're mistaken," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
