Republicans Fail to Block New NMB Rule for Fair Union Elections

Despite their best efforts, Senate Republicans and three Democrats-in-name-only couldn't block new National Mediation Board rules that will finally bring democracy to union elections for flight attendants, passenger service agents and other airline and rail workers.

The NMB's rule change, upheld in June by a federal court, says that union elections under the Railway Labor Act, which also covers aviation workers, must be decided by a majority of votes. In the past, anyone who didn't cast a ballot was counted as a "No" vote.

Employers padded voter lists with names of workers with bad addresses or were no longer on the payroll, taking away any pretense of fair play. "Can you imagine the outcry from Republicans and any other politician if that was how U.S. elections were conducted?" CWA President Larry Cohen said. "They pound their chests about democracy but don't want those principles to apply to the workers they represent."

Arkansas Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, three of the Senate's most unreliable Democrats on issues critical to workers and working families, joined Republicans in voting against a resolution to overturn the new rule. The vote was 43-56.