(The following story by Randolph Heaster appeared on The Kansas City Star website on May 11, 2010.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 76-year-old transportation law was swept away Monday under a rule change announced by a federal agency.
The National Mediation Board, which oversees labor-management relations in the transportation industry, said future elections will require a simple majority of employees voting in favor of union representation. The upshot is that workers in the airline and railroad industries will have an easier path to organizing.
The previous rule, under the Railway Labor Act, counted any worker who did not participate as a “no” vote.
The change was hailed by union leaders as a long-necessary reform, more aligned with democratic standards. The group representing airlines said it would challenge the rule change, and critics of organized labor accused the Obama administration of currying favor with a special-interest group.
In other industries, the National Labor Relations Board handles union elections and requires only a simple majority. The change to make the same principle apply in the transportation sector was welcomed by Gordon Clark, president of Transport Workers Union Local 530 in Kansas City.
“That’s always been a big hurdle in organizing in our industry,” said Clark, whose local represents about 400 mechanics and related workers for American Airlines in Kansas City. “No other election system in our country counts people who don’t participate as a ‘no’ vote.”
The Air Transport Association, which represents U.S. airlines, said it will challenge the rule change in court.
“We continue to believe the National Mediation Board does not have the legal authority to implement this rule, one that undoubtedly will lead to more labor discord,” the industry association said in a statement.
One carrier that could be affected by the rule change is Delta Air Lines, whose work force was mainly non-union until its merger two years ago with Northwest Airlines. A flight attendants union said it will seek a representation election at Delta soon, according to The Associated Press.
Republicans criticized the rule change as part of the Obama administration’s favoritism to unions.
“Rather than thoughtfully and comprehensively reviewing the workplace rules and election practices unique to the aviation and railway industries, the National Mediation Board has imposed a quick fix at the behest of organized labor,” said Rep. John Kline, a Minnesota Republican, in a statement.
The AFL-CIO requested the rule change and noted that it received widespread support from senators and congressmen, including 13 House Republicans.
“Workers should be able to vote for a union in a system that isn’t rigged to arbitrarily assign meaning to votes that weren’t cast,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department. “With the change … union elections in the airline and rail industries stand a real chance of reflecting the true will of the employees that vote.”