The National Labor Relations Board has revised its rules to create a new union
representation case procedure.
Under the new procedure, parties can agree that disputed pre-election and post-election
issues will be resolved with finality by a regional director with no appeal
to the board.
This new rule permits parties to enter into a voluntary agreement waiving their
right to board review and designating the regional director to serve as the
final authority in their case to resolve disputes arising during the period
from the filing of a representation petition to the issuance of a certification
of representative or certification of results. After a hearing, the regional
director issues a final decision and certification with the same force and effect,
in that case, as if issued by the board.
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Download Now "The new procedure is designed to offer the parties the ability to have
a secret ballot board-conducted representation election and still be able to
expedite the resolution of all questions concerning representation," says
the board. "This is accomplished by allowing the parties to call upon the
board's regional directors to provide neutral, expert, and prompt decision-making
which follows settled representation case law and the National Labor Relations
Act. For those who wish to waive their right to appeal to the board, the procedure
provides yet another option available to the parties to fairly determine the
wishes of the employees as to whether or not they desire to be represented by
a union."
The new rules became effective on March 1, 2005.