Report on the conference call on "mini-unions" and the NLRB with Sen. Johnny Isakson

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Before entering public life, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) was a businessman.

Isakson is deeply concerned by the overreach of the radicalized National Labor Relations Board. In August it overturned 77 years of precedent by ruling that employee units of as few as two or three workers could form their own "mini-union."

The Georgian participated in a bloggers' conference call earlier this morning where he talked about returning to the pre-August labor rules with his Senate Bill 1843, the Representation Fairness Restoration Act.

If the new rules hold, "It's going to create basically the potential for chaos in many types of establishments," Isakson said.

The senator gives the example of a retail store. Under the new NLRB rules, check-out clerks can form their own mini-union, as can baggers. Worse, Isakson warned, those baggers and clerks can establish their own mini-union specific to that store. Currently union contracts for retailers cover employees at all of a chain's outlets--and most job classifications.

Mini-unions and store-specific unions appears pretty chaotic to me as well. Keeping track of this hydra will take management's focus away from increasing sales and yes, creating jobs.

As for stores such as Home Depot, which is based in Georgia, "You could have a plethora of unions of negotiating units in one store," Isakson cautioned. Building centers are dependent upon cross-training of employees. Here's an example I came up with: a lumber expert may need to be called over to make keys in a pinch--a mini-union work rule might prevent that from happening.

How long do you want to wait for those keys?

There are 28 co-sponsors of Senate Bill 1843, all of them are Republicans but Isakson his hoping some Democrats sign on.

"I have no problems with unions whatsoever," Isakson told us. But he wants to return to 77 years of precedent that worked.

Related post:

Isakson: NRLB tips scale toward unions again with ‘mini union’ decision

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