This passed mostly unnoticed but on Frida, a Federal judge in South Caroline ruled against an NLRB mandate that employers must post notices telling workers about their rights to organize.
A federal judge in South Carolina ruled on Friday that the National Labor Relations Board did not have the authority to order most private employers to post notices telling workers about their right to unionize under federal law.
The judge, David C. Norton of United States District Court in Charleston, rejected the labor board’s argument that its order to post such notices was necessary for the board to carry out its mission. He also rejected the board’s contention that Congress had delegated authority to the board to order the posting of such notices, which would explain the right to bargain collectively, to distribute union literature and to work together to improve wages and conditions.
Judge Norton, a Bush Sr. appointee, issued this ruling in direct contradiction to a court ruling in Washington DC that ruled the NLRB could require employers to post the notices.
Judge Norton … wrote, “The legislative history of this act supports a finding that Congress did not intend to impose a universal notice-posting requirement on employers, nor did it authorize the board to do so.”
Corey Robin: “Remember: this is just a requirement that employees be informed of their rights. It doesn’t impose costs on employers, restrict their profits, regulate their operations: it just requires that working men and women be informed of their rights.”
Norton’s ruling is expected to be appealed.
I own a small business and I welcome this ruling, without comment on its constitutionality. People here enjoy many rights in many locations, but I don’t see a requirement to post the bill of rights everywhere I go. The posting requirement is a minor nuisance for me and an occasional source of workplace humor, insofar as everyone knows it isn’t going to happen at my retail business, nor should it. Moreover, it hardly seems right that business owners should be required to assist, in a small way, an effort (unionization) that may well be very objectionable to them. Employees are free to leave and start whatever business they want and manage it however they like. Maybe I will post that somewhere in my business.
THE RANK-AND-FILE BEAT-DOWN
Rank-and-file union members and workers that wannabe union members NEED to stay vigilant in their oversight and of laws affecting their working rights and I would argue, human rights. We need to stay active in spreading the word – as you are doing – on laws and rules that affect our wages and working conditions.
Once in a union, the need to stay active, informed and demanding openness and transparency from your union leadership becomes critical. Union “leaders” WILL try to cull you, truth and information seeking “dissidents”, from the herd. But the rank-and-file WILL hear their own voice thru you.
The union leadership/staff positions are the crack cocaine of union memberships often leading to an arrogant sense of entitlement and lawbreaking. Corruption takes place in many forms beginning in rigged illegal union elections (local 150 IUOE, 2007) to RICO viols; intimidation and threats; racketeering; theft including union credit card use; bribery; ghost workers; threats and harassment to union members for filing NLRB charges against union “leaders” (local 139 IUOE(all of Wisconsin), 2010).
As a union member who has been harassed, threatened and blacklisted for work by one of these addicted union “leaders” for simply requesting local union information that my union dues paid for, I will tell you, many questioning members are AFRAID to speak up with a dissenting opinion or to ask questions. Fear or bribes with preferential job dispatching is often all it takes to completely control the members.
So take to heart Phil Scarr’s brief but important piece on another beat-down of workers rights, because it ALREADY affects you.