Teamsters Strongly Support NLRB Proposed Election Changes

(WASHINGTON) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today told the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that the Union and its affiliates strongly support changes to the rules governing representation elections.

The NLRB is currently amending those rules to update and streamline the election process. The Board conducts more representation elections involving Teamsters’ affiliates than for any other International Union.

As part of the rulemaking process, Hoffa submitted formal comments to the NLRB today on behalf of the IBT and its 500 Joint Councils and Local Unions.

“Our affiliates’ experience with the current election procedures is that they are unfair, confusing, outdated and susceptible to abuse by unscrupulous employers seeking to prevent their workers from exercising their right to organize by obstructing and delaying the process,” Hoffa wrote. “The proposed changes will streamline the election process, reduce uncertainty and promote fairness.”

Hoffa commended the NLRB for proposing the changes, noting that employers consistently and aggressively delay elections to discourage workers from forming unions.

“The proposed changes will be a first step toward accomplishing what workers deserve: a fair and efficient process for them to decide whether to form a union,” Hoffa wrote. “In this regard, it is the workers’ fundamental right to organize that is enshrined in the statute, not the employers’ right to obstruct workers’ rights.”

The NLRB proposes changing election procedures so Regional Directors will have the discretion to deny review of post-election rulings. They would also defer eligibility issues until after the election if they involve less than a fifth of the workers in the bargaining unit. And, among other things, the changes would take the uncertainty of scheduling a date for a representation election.

“These are modest, commonsense changes that preserve due process and strengthen the secret ballot process,” concluded Hoffa. “They update elections methods so they are compatible with today’s technology. And they eliminate the uncertainty that costs so much in time, money and productivity.”

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information.