Representative Jean Schmidt sides with workers in this weekend’s Columbus Dispatch:
In her Forum column of March 14, former Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner wrote that she wanted union elections for airline and railroad workers to have “the same democratic principles as in all other American elections.” Unfortunately, the change she supports does not go nearly far enough to achieve that goal.
Would Brunner’s “democratic principles” also allow the winner of an election for political office to hold that office for life? Or, would those same “democratic principles” allow the loser of a political election to appeal the results to an unelected board with the power to overturn the results because the board preferred the other candidate?
And, would her “democratic principles” require one side to share its voter lists and campaign budget with its opponent while unilaterally agreeing to contact voters only during the work day?
Airline and railroad union elections are nothing like “all other American elections.” Union elections must be conducted under laboratory conditions where employers’ contact with employees is limited. Results in union elections can be overturned on the whim of the party in power, and unions are essentially elected for life. For these and other reasons, the National Mediation Board has required that more than half of an entire work force vote to be unionized, consistent with the Railway Labor Act.
This system has worked well for more than 75 years, and unions representing air and rail industry employees have thrived; they represent 75 percent of the work force. Unfortunately, the National Mediation Board’s recent rule change would allow a small group of employees to unionize an entire work force against its will, but does not apply other democratic principles like requiring regular re-elections or an equal decertification process.
I first learned about this issue from two flight attendants as I flew from Cincinnati to Washington. As Delta flight attendants, they had already voted twice against unionization. They were being asked to vote for a third time, this time under the new rules. Fortunately, these flight attendants prevailed, but the union has since asked the National Mediation Board to overturn the results. Ironically, one reason cited for overturning the election is that too many flight attendants actually voted.
Unions are an important part of our national fabric. A majority of a particular work force should be able to organize if that is its wish.
For more than 75 years, this was the rule. The amendment we will be asked to vote on simply would restore that bipartisan process.