If a year’s work can be undone in a day, is the NLRB simply too weak?
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The stunning decision today by a federal court to invalidate President Obamas appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is being treated by the media primarily as a constitutional power struggle between the president, the Senate and the judiciary. But for labor unionsand the millions of workers they representthe court ruling is just the latest evidence that the NLRBa New Deal-era federal agency set up to handle all labor disputesneeds updating. Its time for a new, more decentralized approach to protecting worker rights that supplements the current structure, which funnels all worker complaints through a single central agency in Washington D.C.
The current NLRB delivered a number of significant pro-worker decisions in 2012, all of which may now be in jeopardy. In a single year, workers gained greater protections in their use of social media; protections from employer-mandated dispute resolution programs; and greater protections for automatic dues deductions, among others. After years of pro-employer boards, many in labor saw the current incarnation, which has served since January 2012, as providing a necessary rebalance of power. However, the NLRB was only able to reach these pro-worker decisions because President Obama used his recess appointment powers to appoint progressive members.
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http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/14491/time_to_move_beyond_the_board/
ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)The issue is how the members were appointed which is a Executive branch wide issue, not specific to the NLRB.
That said, everybody who lost at the NLRB will now file suit citing this case as precedent. This clearly has to go to SCOTUS and soon. If the plaintiffs win, everything those members decided is toast and there will be a royal mess.
dkf
(37,305 posts)ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)Teamster Jeff
(1,598 posts)to settle disputes and protect collective bargaining rights is not enough and that the Civil Rights Act should be amended to include the right to form unions and the right of workers to collectively bargain. That way disputes could go straight to federal court and the Labor Board.