Hair-on-Fire
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Posts
- 614
This is huge.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...6101599779256.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews
By MIKE ESTERL
The National Mediation Board overhauled a decades-old election rule to make it easier for airline and railway employees to unionize, in a sign that labor is getting a more favorable hearing at the federal agency under the Obama administration.
The rule change, which was published online Monday in the Federal Register, has been opposed by the airline and rail industries and could still face legal challenges. More than 570,000 workers are employed by railroads and airlines, more than two-thirds of whom already are unionized.
The overhaul would affect tens of thousands of workers at Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's largest airline, who are gearing up for unionization votes. Some smaller airlines with little or no unionization, including JetBlue Airways Corp., also could see organized labor get a larger foothold. Railways are more unionized, and would be less affected.
Under an interpretation of the Railway Labor Act dating to 1934, aviation and rail workers who don't vote on whether to form a union have been counted as "no'' votes. That means a union could not be approved without a full majority of employees voting yes.
Under the National Labor Relations Act governing other industries, a union can be created if a majority of all votes cast are in favor of collective bargaining. In such elections, nonvotes don't count.
The rule change by the NMB mandates that unionization votes for air and rail workers be tallied in the same manner as in other industries.
It comes after a White House appointment shifted the balance of the government agency's three-person board. Linda Puchala, a former flight attendant union leader, replaced Read Van de Water, a former Northwest Airlines lobbyist, last year. She joined Harry Hoglander, a former pilot union leader appointed in 2002.
The NMB regulates labor relations in aviation and rail.
Write to Mike Esterl at [email protected]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...6101599779256.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews
By MIKE ESTERL
The National Mediation Board overhauled a decades-old election rule to make it easier for airline and railway employees to unionize, in a sign that labor is getting a more favorable hearing at the federal agency under the Obama administration.
The rule change, which was published online Monday in the Federal Register, has been opposed by the airline and rail industries and could still face legal challenges. More than 570,000 workers are employed by railroads and airlines, more than two-thirds of whom already are unionized.
The overhaul would affect tens of thousands of workers at Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's largest airline, who are gearing up for unionization votes. Some smaller airlines with little or no unionization, including JetBlue Airways Corp., also could see organized labor get a larger foothold. Railways are more unionized, and would be less affected.
Under an interpretation of the Railway Labor Act dating to 1934, aviation and rail workers who don't vote on whether to form a union have been counted as "no'' votes. That means a union could not be approved without a full majority of employees voting yes.
Under the National Labor Relations Act governing other industries, a union can be created if a majority of all votes cast are in favor of collective bargaining. In such elections, nonvotes don't count.
The rule change by the NMB mandates that unionization votes for air and rail workers be tallied in the same manner as in other industries.
It comes after a White House appointment shifted the balance of the government agency's three-person board. Linda Puchala, a former flight attendant union leader, replaced Read Van de Water, a former Northwest Airlines lobbyist, last year. She joined Harry Hoglander, a former pilot union leader appointed in 2002.
The NMB regulates labor relations in aviation and rail.
Write to Mike Esterl at [email protected]
