NLRB Rule Changes Timeline for Union Elections

A new rule from the National Labor Relations Board that compresses the timeline in which workers can hold union-organizing elections is effective this week.

Opponents have dubbed this the “ambush election rule” because organizers could hold a union election in less than 14 days after a petition is filed. The previous rule called for at least 25 days. The new rule also provides for electronic filing and requires employers to include contact information for workers.

Union leaders say the rule prevents employers’ from using regulatory delay tactics, but critics suggest it prevents employers from communicating effectively with workers after learning of an organizing drive.

President Barack Obama vetoed a recent GOP-backed resolution to halt the new rule. The president said the congressional action would block “modest but overdue reforms to simplify” union elections.

Republican leaders vowed to try to overturn the president’s veto, although action before April 14, the date the rule is scheduled to go into effect, is unlikely. S