NLRB General Counsel Seeks Revival of ‘Card Check’ Organizing

NLRB General Counsel Seeks Revival of ‘Card Check’ Organizing

Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), argued in a brief filed before the NLRB that the Board should move to revive a legal standard known as the Joy Silk doctrine or ‘card check’ that permits a majority of workers to form a union through signed authorization cards in lieu of a formal, secret ballot election. Abruzzo argued that the NLRB should reinstate the doctrine because “the Board’s current remedial scheme has failed to deter unfair labor practices during union organizing drives and provide for free and fair elections.”

The NLRB rejected the Joy Silk standard nearly 50 years ago in 1975, ruling that employers do not violate the National Labor Relations Act by insisting on an election rather than grant recognition based on the union’s proffer of a purported card majority. Under current Board precedent, an employer has the right to insist on an election, and an employer may only be forced to recognize and bargain with a union without an election if the Board determines a fair election is highly unlikely or impossible because of unfair labor practices during the pre-election period.

IWLA continues to monitor legislative and regulatory developments related to card check.

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