Washington, DC (October 5, 2010) – Late last week, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a memorandum to the board’s regional offices establishing new procedures in cases involving union claims that an employee has been fired unlawfully during a union organizing campaign.

The new procedure directs the NLRB’s regional offices to file an injunction in federal court – referred to as a 10(j) injunction for the section it is established under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) – requiring the employer keep a union organizer on payroll until the pending case is resolved. Notably, the new rules protect union organizers during aggressive organizing drives but do nothing for employees who are victims of union official misconduct.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation released the following statement regarding the rule change:

“The NLRB Acting General Counsel’s one-sided dictate creates a double standard against employees who want nothing to do with a union.

“For over 40 years, the National Right to Work Foundation has fought for the rights of hundreds of thousands of workers whose rights have been violated by union officials. Foundation attorneys frequently request 10(j) injunctions in cases in which union bosses are committing unfair labor practices against nonmember workers, but NLRB officials ignore those requests in virtually every case.

“The Acting General Counsel’s quick-snap injunctions rule creates a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ standard that will be used by union organizers to pressure employers into helping push employees into union ranks.

“After Big Labor’s Card Check bill has been successfully blocked for two years in Congress, the Obama Administration is now implementing provisions of the card check bill through the executive branch. This new rule is a shameful political payoff to the union bosses who spent over $1 billion in 2008 electing Obama and forced-unionism supporters to Congress.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year.