From the WFI: FAA agreement defends worker rights

There is a good news for aviation and rail workers this weekend. In a press release, the Workforce Fairness Institute explains:

Washington, D.C. (January 21, 2011) – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today released the following statement in response to news reports that Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) legislation:

"The agreement reached by Congressional leadership protects the rights of workers in the airline and railroad industries and balances the scales in workplace elections. While we continue to believe the National Mediation Board (NMB) ruling upending nearly a century of precedent was an extraordinary form of payback to Big Labor bosses, the legislative branch has met its constitutional obligation to serve as a check on the executive," said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI). "The deal as reported will appropriately require 50 percent of workers in a company to support efforts to organize before a union election can be held as opposed to the current 35 percent. Another noteworthy provision ensures run-off elections are between the top two recipients of worker votes ending the practice of allowing a union with less support than the no-union vote to remain on the ballot. Lastly, the NMB will now be required to conduct public hearings when engaging in significant rulemaking. At the end of the day, this is a decisive victory for workers and significant defeat for union bosses who sought to use an Obama regulatory agency to stack the deck against employees and employers."

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