NLRB Finalizes “Quickie Election” Regulations

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalized its representation-case procedures, also known as the “quickie elections” or “ambush elections” rule, and they will be published in the Federal Register on December 22, 2011 or can be viewed electronically here. The NLRB’s rule would be particularly difficult to apply in the construction industry given the complexity of defining an appropriate bargaining unit and determining voter eligibility as well as the decentralized nature of the workplace.  AGC submitted comments to the Board in August explaining these concerns and urging the Board to withdraw the proposed rule.  AGC will be reviewing the 200+ page rule and its specific impact on the construction industry and will provide future updates to the membership. In response to the final rule, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which AGC is a member of, filed a lawsuit on December 20th in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the rule. The complaint can be found here. In addition to the final rule, many questions remain whether President Obama will make recess appointments to various agencies, including the NLRB.  If the President again makes recess appointments to the NLRB it will be viewed as controversial. The NLRB will have only two members after the end of the year and will be unable to exercise its full authority.  Earlier this week, all 47 Senate Republicans wrote a letter to the President asking him not to make any recess appointments to the NLRB. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (20) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.