Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

In yet another pro labor move under the Obama administration, the National Mediation Board (“NMB”), which oversees labor affairs of airlines and railroads, has issued a final rule that will make it easier for unions to organize airline and railroad employees.  Under the new rule, unions must obtain votes from a majority of all workers who cast ballots in order to be recognized.  This is a significant change from the old rule, which had governed these elections for the past 76 years.  In the past, unions had to obtain votes from a majority of all workers eligible to cast ballots in order to be recognized.  Essentially, the old rule allowed workers who did not cast a ballot to effectively count as a “no” vote.  As a result, in most cases the new rule will decrease the number of votes unions must obtain to win recognition.  Most companies, which are governed by the National Labor Relations Act, follow the same majority requirements as the new rule.