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NLRB Approves Rules to Speed Elections

WASHINGTON — The National Labor Relations Board in a 2-1 vote Wednesday approved proposed rules that would speed up union elections by reducing litigation in election cases that come before the board.

The approved measures represent only a portion of the changes proposed by the board earlier this year, but were brought to vote Wednesday while the board has a quorum. It is likely the board will have only two members following the end of the current congressional session. The board may still consider other aspects of the proposed rule changes at a future date, Chairman Mark Pearce said.

Pearce and Craig Becker, both Democrats, approved the measures over the objections of the board’s lone Republican, Brian Hayes. Hayes in a board meeting Wednesday said he decided against resigning as a means to prevent the rule changes from taking place but argued against the measure and the vote itself, calling it “a fundamentally flawed rule resulting from a fundamentally flawed process.”

Business groups including the Retail Industry Leaders Association have decried the measure as a means of staging “ambush elections,” adding that it would interfere with free speech and due process rights for employers.

Pearce said the measure would address only those elections held up by litigation prior to a vote.

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