Washington, DC (October 26, 2011) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed a motion for summary judgment in their federal lawsuit challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new union posting rules released recently.
The motion was filed this afternoon in conjunction with National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The Foundation’s case challenges the new rules requiring virtually every employer in the country to post biased information about employee rights online and in the workplace, even if they’ve never committed a violation or been accused of unfair labor practices.
Meanwhile, the new rules do not require union officials to issue information about workers’ rights to refrain from union membership or opt out of union dues.
Until the rule changes, employers were required to post notices of workers’ rights only if a violation of labor law occurred.
National Right to Work Foundation attorneys argue that the NLRB has exceeded its authority granted by Congress and violated free speech guarantees of the First Amendment. No other federal agency has ever made it unlawful to fail to post a notice that wasn’t required by Congress, which has prompted House Republicans to hold Congressional hearings on the matter.
After Foundation attorneys filed for a preliminary injunction and argued against the rule changes in court, the NLRB delayed the effective date of the Notice Posting Rule until January 31, 2012.
“Under these new rules, employers are essentially weaponized against workers,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Mom and Pop shops, small businesses, larger companies – even some religiously-affiliated organizations – are now under the Obama Labor Board’s microscope and will feel the pressure to hand over their employees to forced unionism or face legal consequences.”
“This ‘divide and conquer’ strategy should erase all doubt that the biased and ideologically-charged Obama Labor Board has turned into an organizing tool for Big Labor set to do one thing: force more workers who may want nothing to do with a union into paying union dues to keep their jobs.”
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 about 200 cases nationwide per year.