NLRB’s lone Republican threatens to quit

Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding changes to its rules for union election campaigns (see our Nov. 22 post).  The goal of the NPRM was to speed up the election process – a change that many believe would benefit unions at the cost of employers not being able to inform their employees about the benefits of remaining union-free.  The NLRB acknowledges that this effort has stirred up a lot of dissent.  In fact, the NLRB received over 65,000 comments regarding the NPRM.

Last week, the NLRB scheduled a meeting for November 30, 2011.  While the NLRB claims the vote will be limited to rules that will “reduce unnecessary litigation,” not everyone is happy about the scheduled vote.  Member Brian Hayes, the lone Republican member of the NLRB has, according to the New York Times, threatened to resign prior to the November 30th meeting.  If Member Hayes indeed resigns, the NLRB will lose its quorum, effectively preventing the NLRB from acting on any matters.

To follow the NLRB saga, stay tuned . . . .