Damn straight:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
With Republicans looking to block one of the biggest labor law reforms of the Obama era, Senate Democrats are telling the National Labor Relations Board that it has their support in speeding up the union election process.
In December, members of the NLRB announced that they would move ahead with new rules effectively cutting the time that employers have to stall or derail unionization efforts. The move infuriated business lobbies, which claim the reforms will infringe on employers' free speech rights, while unions hail them as commonsense changes that will help workers vote in a timely manner.
The new GOP-controlled Congress has already signaled that it intends to pursue legislation aimed at neutering the NLRB, which is tasked with enforcing labor law on unions and employers. Business groups, meanwhile, have sued to gut the reforms.
In a letter to be sent to the NLRB on Thursday, 16 Democratic senators wrote that they "applaud" the board for pursuing the rules change. Democratic support in the upper chamber could be critical in avoiding a future budget bill rider that would block the reforms, should Republicans try to go that route.
"American workers gained the right to collectively bargain and unionize nearly 80 years ago, and out of these rights grew the American middle class," says the letter, which was provided to HuffPost. "It is critical that we preserve these rights for the benefit of American workers and our national economy. Workers deserve to have a union representation election process that is free of stalling tactics and intimidation. These new NLRB rules will reinforce that right."
The letter was written by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and signed by 14 of their colleagues.
Although the election reforms are just procedural changes, they could make it significantly easier for workers to unionize. Before an election, businesses often spend time disputing which workers would be covered by the proposed bargaining unit. But under the new rules, that dispute will be postponed until after the election, making it harder for employers to drag out the process.
The reforms will also speed up elections by allowing unions to file election petitions and other documents via email. In addition, employers will have to provide unions with the email addresses and phone numbers of workers eligible to vote. - Huffington Post, 1/21/15
For more information, please contact Senators Murray and Brown's offices for more details.
Murray: (202) 224-2621
http://www.murray.senate.gov/...
Brown: (202) 224-2315
http://www.brown.senate.gov/...
And since Murray is up for re-election, click here to donate and get involved with her re-election campaign:
http://www.pattymurray.com/