Dana Corp. decision reverses 40-year old precedent

WASHINGTON, DC-Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement regarding the Bush NLRB's Dana Corp. decision:

"The National Labor Relations Board dealt an ugly, below-the-belt blow to working Americans in its Dana Corp. decision yesterday. They had a chance to uphold the right of working people to come together for a voice on the job. Instead, the NLRB cleared a path for anti-union activists to stage battles that will indefinitely distract workers and employers from the vital work of negotiating benefits and protections to improve the lives and safety of workers and their families.

This decision undermines the very protections that the card check process exists to guarantee, that is, the freedom from employer interference and intimidation. Employees are hardly free from these forces when a small band of intimidated employees has the ability to demand an NLRB ballot election within hours after the majority speaks in a successful card check campaign.

The fact that the Bush NLRB would go so far as to reverse a fair and rational 40-year old precedent to undermine worker and employer rights to establish a decent fair process for establishing union representation is extremely disheartening. No elected or appointed official who prioritizes the needs and vulnerabilities of working families would let such a thing stand.  The NLRB has become a caricature of itself, and as a nation, we should be embarrassed by governing bodies that fail to consider even the most basic needs and rights of workers."

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