As forecast two weeks ago on this blog, President Obama yesterday vetoed the Congressional Review Act resolution that would have prevented the NLRB from proceeding with the implementation of its ambush/quickie election rules adopted earlier this year. In his “memorandum of disapproval,” the President referred to the rules as “common-sense, modest” changes. He also noted that employees have a right to join a union and that “we shouldn’t be making it impossible for that to happen.” The President also announced that he would host a “summit” in the fall to discuss “increasing the voice and rights of workers” in the U.S.
Of course, the resolution the President vetoed would not have made it “impossible” to join a union. It would have simply kept in place the current election procedures, under which many American workers have exercised their right to join (or reject) labor unions over the years.
With the President’s action, the only thing standing in the way of the new rule’s April 14 effective date is litigation. Stay tuned for developments on the outcome of the two pending lawsuits challenging the NLRB’s rule and the President’s summit.