President Barack Obama appears set to veto a congressional resolution to overturn a new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule that would facilitate unionization,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
The NLRB regulation, to take effect April 14, would allow workers to electronically file certain documents when voting on whether to join a union. It further blocks employers from launching legal challenges to unionization elections until after workers have cast their ballots, according to
Forbes.
"It is undeniable that modernizing and streamlining" regulation of union elections is "far overdue," said NLRB chairman Mark Pearce, an Obama appointee, the Journal reported.
Republicans oppose the rule on the grounds that employers would not have enough time to present their reasons for opposing unionization, the Journal reported.
Employers have denounced the "ambush election rule" as exemplifying the NLRB's transformation "from neutral arbiter of labor law to unabashed supporter of Big Labor's agenda."
Under the seldom used Congressional Review Act of 1996, Congress can overturn regulatory measures by federal agencies such as the NLRB.
"Protecting against union tactics that ambush and bully small businesses and employees should not be a partisan issue," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. "I hope the president seizes this opportunity instead of another veto of more American jobs."
A White House statement urged Congress to "join the president in strengthening protections for American workers and giving them more of a voice in the workplace and the economy," according to the Journal.
The House is expected to take up the measure this week. The Senate passed the resolution 53-46 earlier this month.
If Obama's vetoes the resolution, it would be the second time he has rejected the will of the Congress since the GOP took control of both houses in January. In February, he vetoed legislation to expedite the
Keystone XL pipeline.
The Senate is unlikely to muster the 67 votes needed to overturn a presidential veto of the NLRB resolution since Republicans hold 54 seats.
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