Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-South Carolina) three amendments to protect American businesses from the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) job-killing tactics failed today in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

 

“The NLRB is the Grim Reaper of job creation and the most out-of-control agency in Washington,” said Graham.

 

The Graham Amendments include:

 

NLRB Micro-Union (Failed 15-15): The NLRB decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile 357 allows unions to gerrymander the size of a bargaining unit.  Even if a majority of workers opposed the formation of a union, the NLRB decision allows unions to be formed by allowing the workforce to be subdivided into increasingly smaller groups.  Micro-unions have made managing the workforce increasingly more difficult and the Graham Amendment would prohibit the NLRB from using its funds to enforce this rule.

 

“The NLRB rule allowing micro-unions is a radical change from past practices and will be devastating to American job creation,” said Graham.  “The private sector is not doing fine and if the micro-union concept spreads it will be even more difficult to create jobs.  We may have lost today in committee, but I think we will win on this amendment when the full Senate votes.”

 

NLRB Ambush Election (Failed 13-17): This NLRB decision shortens the timeframe for a union election to as little as ten days.  Over 95 percent of all union elections occur within 56 days and the current median is 38 days.  By rushing an election, the NLRB is deliberately stacking the deck against employers and denying them time to adequately defend themselves against union propaganda.  The Graham Amendment would prohibit the NLRB from using funds on ambush elections.

 

NLRB Secret Ballot (Failed 14-16): In 2011, South Carolina was one of four states the NLRB threatened to sue after the state passed a law prohibiting unions from using the card-check process to unionize.  Card-check is ripe for abuse and intimidation of employees who may oppose unionization and would vote against it in a secret ballot election.  This amendment would ensure the NLRB cannot block secret ballot elections. The House of Representatives has already passed the language in the Graham Amendment to protect secret ballot voting.

 

“The NLRB seems hell-bent on interjecting themselves into private sector business decisions for purely political reasons,” said Graham.  “Last year, the NLRB attempted to intervene in a legitimate business decision by Boeing to expand aircraft manufacturing into South Carolina. Their decision did great damage to job creation efforts and they seem intent on continuing this destructive behavior.  On issue after issue the NLRB is destroying jobs and making the United States uncompetitive in the international marketplace.”

 

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