Look how the HR mag fears unions. :-)
May 14, 2010 by Tim Gould
Get the feeling the Obama administration’s pushing for increased union participation? Just wait ’til you hear the latest development.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) — which basically serves as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for railroads and airlines — has just made it easier for employees in those industries to unionize.
The three-member NMB adopted a new rule: If more than half of voting employees approve, the union’s in.
Under the old rule — which had been in effect since the mid-1930s — a union could only be certified if it was approved by a majority of the entire workforce that would be organized. Under that arrangement, workers who didn’t cast ballots were counted as “no” votes.
New appointment is the key
Here’s the backstory: The rule change became possible after President Obama appointed Linda Puchala, a former airline union official, to the NMB earlier this year.
The other members of the board are Harry Hoglander, a former pilot and union honcho, and Elizabeth Dougherty, an attorney and former aide to President George W. Bush.
As you might imagine, Dougherty cast the a dissenting vote on the rule change, which she called “the most dramatic policy shift in the history of the (NMB).”
FULL story at link.