ABC Fights NLRB Ambush Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 4, 2015) – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s passage of a joint resolution to block the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election proposal.

The resolution, introduced by Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.), seeks to prevent the NLRB from implementing the ambush rule, which is scheduled to take effect April 14, through the Congressional Review Act.

“Today’s action by the U.S. Senate led by Sen. Alexander is a win for workplace and privacy rights and for construction contractors and their employees,” said ABC Vice President of Government Affairs Geoff Burr. “The ambush rule remains among the most egregious examples of the NLRB’s transformation from neutral arbiter of labor law to unabashed supporter of Big Labor’s agenda.”

Burr said the ABC has consistently vowed to lead the fight against the NLRB’s ambush rule through any avenue available. 

“Should the ambush rule be allowed to take effect in April, it would have the unique distinction of violating both the due process rights of employers and the privacy rights of employees,” said Burr. 

Under the ambush election rule, the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place will be dramatically reduced from the current average of 38 days to as few as 14 calendar days. In addition, the rule shortens the amount of time an employer is allotted to provide a list of eligible voters and adds to the amount of personal contact information that must be disclosed to unions. The changes are scheduled to take effect April 14, 2015, unless a court or Congress blocks enforcement of the new rule.

ABC of Texas and the Central Texas Chapter of ABC Jan. 13 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas seeking to overturn the latest version of the NLRB’s ambush election rule. ABC has consistently opposed the NLRB’s ambush election rule as unfair to employers and employees and has raised privacy concerns over the proposal’s distribution of employees’ personal contact information, including in testimony before the NLRB in April 2014.

For more information, visit ABC.