The National Mediation Board—an agency tasked with regulating labor relations and disputes in the transportation sector—is overturning decades of regulatory precedent to facilitate unionization at the behest of Big Labor.  The NMB’s new rule would require only a majority of votes cast for unionization to declare certification, rather than a majority of all workers, voting or not.  This will give organized labor an immense advantage in forcing thousands of transportation workers to accept collective bargaining and start paying union dues.

Headed by Americans for Tax Reform and the Alliance for Worker Freedom, a coalition of organizations has written to Reps. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), urging them to oppose the move in Congress.  The coalition writes:

“Recently, thousands of Delta Air Lines employees voted against unionization.  Yet, the same two National Mediation Board members who worked with the unions to change the voting rules will soon be considering requests by the unions to overturn these democratically conducted elections and re-run them in a way that would favor the unions even more.  The unions seek no less than to impose unionization on workers by administrative fiat and ordering elections until the unions win.  We hope you will take a very serious investigative look into this matter and stop this blatant and undemocratic union payback.  While this instance involves Delta – the ramifications of these actions extend far beyond Delta. 

Since Delta Air Lines and Northwest merged two years ago, there have been seven workgroups in which the workers in the newly merged company have voted to reject unionization.  In two other groups, the unions voluntarily decertified without an election after it became apparent they couldn’t get majority support.  Thus, among nine groups, involving 56,000 employees, none has chosen to have union representation.  These elections are the largest at a private-sector company since 1941, when more than 70,000 plant workers at Ford Motor Co. joined a union.

These elections include four elections reported just since the beginning of November including

• 53% of Delta Flight Attendants who voted against the Association of Flight Attendants
• 54% of Delta Ramp employees who voted against the Machinists union
• 73% of employees in a Delta TechOps group who voted against the Machinists union
• 70% of Delta customer service and reservations agents who voted against the Machinists union

The flight attendant union election garnered a 94% participation rate and the union lost.  Unfortunately for the Delta workers who voted not to become unionized, the unions refuse to respect the will of the majority and are vowing to challenge these elections with frivolous appeals to the very same National Mediation Board members who worked hand in glove with the unions all along.  Bizarrely, what was one of the complaints of the unions?  That efforts to encourage voter participation were too successful and the union would have won if there had been a lower turnout!”

Click here for the full letter.