On January 31, the National Mediation Board (NMB) published a proposed rule and request for comments to amend its regulations to provide for decertification of labor unions. This move intends to make the decertification process for unions as simple as certification.
At present, the NMB administers the Railway Labor Act and certifies unions upon request to represent crafts and classes of employees performing the same jobs on a system-wide basis. If employees wish to end union representation, they must utilize a straw man procedure, choosing a new representative who will replace the current one (when, in reality, the person will not serve as a representative). Once 50 percent of the workforce signs authorization cards, a vote is administered. The vote gives employees four options: current representation; the straw man; a write-in option; and no representative. Decertification can only happen if the majority of people vote for “no representative” or the straw man, who then declines to serve as a representative.
The NMB’s rule change proposes that a decertification vote would take place after authorization cards are submitted for 50 percent of the employees eligible to vote in the craft or class, and that vote would eliminate the straw man option. If the majority of workers vote to remove representation, “the NMB will not accept any future applications from any organization or individual seeking to represent the craft or class for a two-year period from the date of the decertification.”
Read more about the proposed rule change here.
