NLRB to sue Arizona over Prop. 113 “secret ballot” referendum

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I warned you at the time that the Prop. 113 "secret ballot" referendum that the legislature sneaked onto the ballot in a special session, after the "Save Our Secret Balot" ("SOS") initiative, Prop. 108, was ruled ineligible by the court, was preempted by federal law.

This was an anti-union "turn out our wingnut base" ballot measure that is preempted by federal labor law. Voters approved it anyway in 2010.

The federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) immediately stepped in. Negotiations for a settlement have fallen through. NLRB will sue Ariz., SD over union laws:

The National Labor Relations Board says it will move ahead with lawsuits seeking to invalidate state constitutional amendments in Arizona and South Dakota that require workers to hold secret ballot elections before a company can be unionized.

The move comes after months of negotiations that failed to reach a settlement with attorneys general for the two states, according to an April 22 letter from the agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon.

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Solomon told state officials he has directed staff to file the lawsuits against Arizona and South Dakota "shortly." He claims the amendments conflict with current federal law that gives employers the option to recognize a union if a majority of workers simply sign cards, a process known as "card check."

Solomon also claims the state amendments are pre-empted by the supremacy clause of the Constitution. That clause says federal law prevails if there is a conflict between state and federal law.

Demonstrating, once again, that he is unqualifed to serve as Arizona's Attorney General, Tom Horne said the NLRB had no legal basis to file a lawsuit.

"There's no statute that says people can't have secret ballot elections, so there's no preemption," Horne said.

Tom Horne clearly is outside his comfort zone of legal knowledge and expertise. I would suggest that he study federal labor law before making such a definitive – and entirely incorrect – statement of law.

And it would be a good rule of thumb for reporters to call an expert in an area of law on which Tom Horne comments to put a legal expert's opinion in your reporting to balance his comnments, instead of just giving him the freedom to say whatever he wants without challenge.

The Arizona AFL-CIO has issued the following press release:

Federal Labor Board Files Suit Against the State of Arizona
Over Unconstitutional Anti-Union Law

Arizona AFL-CIO Praises Tough Action Backing Rights of Arizona Workers

Phoenix, AZ – On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced it would pursue legal action against the State of Arizona to invalidate a 2010 state constitutional amendment (Proposition 113) that restricted the rights of Arizona workers to form unions through majority sign-up, or card check. Rebekah Friend, Executive Director and Secretary/Treasurer of the Arizona AFL-CIO, issued the following statement on the NLRB’s announcement:

“Arizonans deserve a path to unionization that is fair and free of coercion. But because corporate CEOs want to make it harder for workers to bargain for better wages and benefits, they mounted yet another political attack on our rights at work with this unlawful constitutional amendment banning unionization by majority sign-up.

“The big business groups and anonymous, out-of-state donors backing this law never intended to protect workers’ freedoms. After all, these same groups pushed the repeal of collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and Ohio. The ballot measure that attempted to ban card check was merely a political stunt that took advantage of Arizona’s referendum process to promote a national anti-worker agenda.

“We knew from the start that this anti-union amendment was superseded by federal law, and I am pleased to see that the NLRB will be continuing its defense of workers’ rights in Arizona. Attorney General Tom Horne knows as well that this law is unconstitutional and cannot stand, but continues to defend this anti-union law on behalf of his corporate campaign supporters. I urge Horne to drop this charade and save valuable taxpayer resources for pursuing crimes like mortgage fraud, which continue to affect thousands of Arizona homeowners.

“More than ever, Arizonans need better wages and benefits, job security and safer workplaces. The Arizona AFL-CIO urges business groups to stop their political attacks on unions and work together with us to restore the American middle class.”

The Arizona AFL-CIO is a voluntary federation of labor unions in the State of Arizona, representing affiliates with over 185,000 members. To learn more, visit azaflcio.org.