Peters Statement on Support for NLRB Rule to Modernize and Streamline Union Elections

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) released the following statement today on the resolution of congressional disapproval seeking to undo the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new representation-case procedures rule.

“Workers in Michigan and across the country should have the right to organize if they choose to, but existing union election procedures are not only outdated and hostile to workers but susceptible to frivolous litigation and delays,” said Senator Peters. “I support the NLRB’s new rule that modernizes and streamlines the process to better protect American workers and their ability to engage in collective bargaining. We cannot keep the rules rigged against workers struggling to provide for their families and join the middle class, and I’m disappointed by the Senate’s vote today to take us back to an outdated and fragmented union representation elections process.”

Senator Peters recently joined 15 other Senators in writing a letter to NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce urging him to vigorously defend the NLRB’s final rule, issued in December 2014, to restore balance and certainty to the union election process. The NLRB's new rule seeks to reduce unnecessary litigation and delay in the union certification process; to ensure that workers, employers and unions receive timely information; and to provide for the electronic filing of election petitions and other documents. It allows parties and the NLRB’s regional offices to transmit documents electronically, rather than using slower or more expensive forms of communications, such as mail or express delivery services.

Throughout his career in public service, Peters has been a strong advocate for the rights of workers. His mother worked as a nurse’s aide at a local nursing home where she organized her workplace and became an SEIU union steward.

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