B5C
8th May 2013, 03:27
Terrible News For Unions; Pro-Labor Federal Rule Struck Down By Appeals Court
An appeals court has unfortunately struck down a federal law that would have required the display of a poster in many businesses notifying workers of their rights to join a union for collective bargaining, the right to refuse to join a union, and the right to not be harassed by representatives of a union.
Workers’ rights are no longer a broad issue, it seems. Union membership is waning, and business groups are making successful bids in their fight against unionization. In a time when tax laws and corporate cronyism have created a huge problem for low-wage workers, unionization might be more important than ever, and the growing trend of apathy in the workplace isn’t good for the future of laborers.
The rule, instituted by the National Labor Relations Board, would have made it necessary for millions of businesses to put a sign up for employees measuring 11 by 17 inches instructing them about labor union laws and their rights to bargain for better wages/working conditions. Due to take effect last year, it has been held up in lower courts which were split on whether the rule was valid or not before the appeals court made the final decision.
Salon reports (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/) on the unfortunate decision, remarking,
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the National Labor Relations Board violated employers’ free speech rights in in trying to force them to display the posters or face charges of committing an unfair labor practice.
Unions had hoped the posters would help them boost falling membership, but business groups argued that they were too one-sided in favor of unionization.
Those arguments were successful, but don’t actually make a whole lot of sense:
A three-judge panel of the court agreed, ruling that the National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employers not to publish the government’s poster if they find the language in it objectionable. That protection is similar to the First Amendment freedom of speech, said Judge A. Raymond Randolph, who was appointed to the court in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. (Source (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/))
If business had the best interests of employees, instead of profits (not that there is anything wrong with that; businesses are there to make money, after all), there would be no need for labor unions. There would be no need to collectively bargain for better treatment. So, if workers have the right to do so, of course it is going to be found “objectionable” by those businesses to display such a poster.
The National Association of Manufacturers was happy with this victory, however, as was their President, Jay Timmons, who was quoted as saying (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/), “Today, manufacturers claim an important victory in the fight against an activist NLRB and its aggressive agenda.”
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/07/terrible-news-for-unions-pro-labor-federal-rule-struck-down-by-appeals-court/
The bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie owned courts won a major victory. :(
An appeals court has unfortunately struck down a federal law that would have required the display of a poster in many businesses notifying workers of their rights to join a union for collective bargaining, the right to refuse to join a union, and the right to not be harassed by representatives of a union.
Workers’ rights are no longer a broad issue, it seems. Union membership is waning, and business groups are making successful bids in their fight against unionization. In a time when tax laws and corporate cronyism have created a huge problem for low-wage workers, unionization might be more important than ever, and the growing trend of apathy in the workplace isn’t good for the future of laborers.
The rule, instituted by the National Labor Relations Board, would have made it necessary for millions of businesses to put a sign up for employees measuring 11 by 17 inches instructing them about labor union laws and their rights to bargain for better wages/working conditions. Due to take effect last year, it has been held up in lower courts which were split on whether the rule was valid or not before the appeals court made the final decision.
Salon reports (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/) on the unfortunate decision, remarking,
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the National Labor Relations Board violated employers’ free speech rights in in trying to force them to display the posters or face charges of committing an unfair labor practice.
Unions had hoped the posters would help them boost falling membership, but business groups argued that they were too one-sided in favor of unionization.
Those arguments were successful, but don’t actually make a whole lot of sense:
A three-judge panel of the court agreed, ruling that the National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employers not to publish the government’s poster if they find the language in it objectionable. That protection is similar to the First Amendment freedom of speech, said Judge A. Raymond Randolph, who was appointed to the court in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. (Source (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/))
If business had the best interests of employees, instead of profits (not that there is anything wrong with that; businesses are there to make money, after all), there would be no need for labor unions. There would be no need to collectively bargain for better treatment. So, if workers have the right to do so, of course it is going to be found “objectionable” by those businesses to display such a poster.
The National Association of Manufacturers was happy with this victory, however, as was their President, Jay Timmons, who was quoted as saying (http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/appeals_court_strikes_down_union_poster_rule/), “Today, manufacturers claim an important victory in the fight against an activist NLRB and its aggressive agenda.”
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/07/terrible-news-for-unions-pro-labor-federal-rule-struck-down-by-appeals-court/
The bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie owned courts won a major victory. :(