Tue, Dec 20, 2011
Rules Vote Not Cast Should Not Count As 'No'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
has upheld new labor rules that make it easier for unions to form
at airlines ... an issue which has been largely credited with
stalling a long-term funding bill for the FAA.
Under the rules put in place last year, union membership was
based on the number of votes cast, rather than the number of
eligible voters. Under the old rules, a note not cast was
considered to be a "no" vote in determining how many preferred
union representation. Under the new rules, votes not cast are not
counted.
The Hill reports that House Republicans had pushed for a return
to the previous rules, and attached the change as an amendment to
the FAA reauthorizaion bill. The union fight was seen as the
principal reason that the FAA was shut down for a brief time this
summer.
The National Mediation Board, which makes the labor rules,
appealed to the courts which found on Friday that it was within its
rights to put the new ballot-counting procedure in place. In the
38-page ruling, the court majority said “The fact that a
majority of eligible voters decides to abstain — i.e., not
exercise its right — hardly suggests that the majority was
deprived of its right. This is how voting rights work." The court
compared it to a Presidential election, saying registered voters
that do not show up at the polls are not deprived of their right to
vote. They only choose not to exercise it.
The AFA-CWA issued a statement shortly following the court's
ruling praising the decision. "This decision confirms that the
National Mediation Board has full and absolute authority to bring
democracy to union elections in their jurisdiction. We urge
Congress to move forward with a clean, long-term reauthorization of
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"For too long, ideologues have held up passage of this vital
piece of legislation on the hope that they could strip aviation
workers of their democratic right of free and fair union elections.
Flight Attendants across the country have been on the forefront of
this important issue for months, pushing back the tide of union
busting provisions that had no place in this bill from the
start.
"It is time for Congress to drop this single-minded crusade
against workers' right to join a union. We encourage Congress to
pass a comprehensive funding bill that allows the FAA to move
forward on vital safety and airport improvement projects that will
help to enhance the world's greatest aviation system."
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