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NLRB Member Says Workers Getting a 'Raw Deal'
The sole Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board says the New Deal legislation of the 1930s that created the NLRB has turned into a "raw deal" for workers that no longer protects their rights to form unions and bargain contracts.
Speaking at a Boston labor law conference, Wilma Liebman said the "law's remedies for labor law violations are weak and ineffective" and that has helped create a system in which "fewer workers have fewer rights."
Liebman's comments go hand in hand with the theme of labor movement events planned the week leading up to Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. CWA and tens of thousands of other union members across the country will stage rallies, press conferences, teach-ins and other events to help the public understand how badly American workers' rights have been eroded by courts and politicians, as well as by long delays waiting for NLRB hearings and rulings.
Dec. 10 events will put a spotlight on the need for the Employee Free Choice Act to mandate majority cardcheck organizing procedures in the workplace as well as first contract arbitration and stiffer penalties for workers' rights violations.
A former NLRB member endorsed the practice of cardcheck recognition while speaking at the same conference as Liebman, chastising the current board majority for seeking to review the practice in pending cases.
"We should be long past questions about the right of employers and unions to enter into voluntary recognition agreements," said Marshall Babson, who served on the NLRB during President Ronald Reagan's tenure.
The NLRB currently has only three of its five seats filled, two Republicans and Liebman. In her speech, as reported by the Bureau of National Affairs Daily Labor Report, she outlined numerous NLRB decisions that have favored employers and said the board majority has shown an "almost reflexive" tendency to overrule Clinton-era board decisions without much analysis or reasoning.
She said the most noteworthy example of the board narrowing workers' rights is the decision holding that workers in a nonunion workplace have no right to have a co-worker present during a disciplinary interview.
CWA leaders are urging all locals to turn out members for Dec. 10 events in their cities. Planning is underway, with an ever-updated calendar of events available on the AFL-CIO website, aflcio.org Click on "Take Action Dec. 10" under "Hot Features." From there you can call up the calendar and download a Voice@Work toolkit to help your local plan and participate in events.
Speaking at a Boston labor law conference, Wilma Liebman said the "law's remedies for labor law violations are weak and ineffective" and that has helped create a system in which "fewer workers have fewer rights."
Liebman's comments go hand in hand with the theme of labor movement events planned the week leading up to Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. CWA and tens of thousands of other union members across the country will stage rallies, press conferences, teach-ins and other events to help the public understand how badly American workers' rights have been eroded by courts and politicians, as well as by long delays waiting for NLRB hearings and rulings.
Dec. 10 events will put a spotlight on the need for the Employee Free Choice Act to mandate majority cardcheck organizing procedures in the workplace as well as first contract arbitration and stiffer penalties for workers' rights violations.
A former NLRB member endorsed the practice of cardcheck recognition while speaking at the same conference as Liebman, chastising the current board majority for seeking to review the practice in pending cases.
"We should be long past questions about the right of employers and unions to enter into voluntary recognition agreements," said Marshall Babson, who served on the NLRB during President Ronald Reagan's tenure.
The NLRB currently has only three of its five seats filled, two Republicans and Liebman. In her speech, as reported by the Bureau of National Affairs Daily Labor Report, she outlined numerous NLRB decisions that have favored employers and said the board majority has shown an "almost reflexive" tendency to overrule Clinton-era board decisions without much analysis or reasoning.
She said the most noteworthy example of the board narrowing workers' rights is the decision holding that workers in a nonunion workplace have no right to have a co-worker present during a disciplinary interview.
CWA leaders are urging all locals to turn out members for Dec. 10 events in their cities. Planning is underway, with an ever-updated calendar of events available on the AFL-CIO website, aflcio.org Click on "Take Action Dec. 10" under "Hot Features." From there you can call up the calendar and download a Voice@Work toolkit to help your local plan and participate in events.