House Democrats, Labor Considering Minority Unions Among Labor Law Overhaul Proposals

Employment Law

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) recently announced that fellow Democrats and a "broad coalition" of labor organizations are working together on a package of bills that would revamp federal labor laws and potentially extend bargaining rights to non-unionized employees.  They hope to introduce the bills this fall.  Polis told Bloomberg BNA earlier this month that he had personally challenged the broader labor community to come up with a "proactive labor agenda" and said that the community needed "to get beyond that box of just saying raise the minimum wage or move to some sort of card check and say 'let's really think creatively about how we can empower a 21st century labor movement.'"  Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) said that extending some bargaining rights to groups of workers who wish to organize but do not have majority support for a union – a concept also known as "minority unions" – have been part of the discussions, but he acknowledged the percentage of support required to obtain those rights remained part of an ongoing dialogue.  Currently, under U.S. law, an employer is only required to bargain with a union if it wins an NLRB-conducted election or if the employer "recognizes" the union based on proof that it has the support of a majority of the employees.  It appears that the House Democrats’ proposal would essentially abandon the election/recognition process and require bargaining, even if the majority of employees are opposed.  Organized labor has historically opposed such proposals as a threat to its traditional business model but that opposition has softened in recent years.