03.31.20

Chairman Scott to NLRB: End Suspension of Union Representation Elections

WASHINGTON – Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairman John Ring calling on NLRB to reverse its suspension of union elections, especially mail ballot elections, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter comes after the NLRB announced it was suspending all representation elections through at least April 3.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an extraordinary strain on labor relations. Employers around the country are making important decisions regarding terms and conditions of employment, such as safety standards and access to paid leave, and employees are petitioning for union representation in order to collectively bargain over these issues,” Chairman Scott wrote. “By forfeiting its duty to safely conduct representation elections, the NLRB has undermined its statutory purpose of ‘protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and the designation of representatives of their own choosing.’”

In the letter, Chairman Scott also expresses concern that the decision to cancel union elections originated from the Office of General Counsel—rather than from the NLRB itself—which would violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the NLRB’s own regulations. 

Chairman Scott urged the NLRB rescind its directive and requests documentation of how the decision to suspend elections was developed, as well as details regarding which elections were postponed and what steps NLRB is taking to reschedule them as soon as practicable.

Read the letter to Chairman Ring here.

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