Labor/Employment

The temporary agreement will keep the railway system working through the holidays.

A tentative agreement isn’t likely to quell Republican criticism of the National Labor Relations Board. 

House Transportation chief Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) fired the latest salvo in the fight over labor rules for transportation workers Thursday, introducing a bill to make it easier to disband unions.

Last year, the National Mediation Board changed the election rules for unions covered by the Railway Labor Act to ensure that absentee votes were not counted as votes against forming an union.

Mica, who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has led an unsuccessful-thus-far effort to reverse the change in a funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration.

He said Thursday that he was filing standalone legislation to apply the same standard to union decertification elections. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) introduced resolutions in their respective chambers Thursday to prevent a potential strike by freight rail employees in the midst of the holiday shopping season.

A group of unions representing parts of the freight industry and an organization representing railroad companies have been negotiating on a potential deal to avert the strikes, but the talks appeared this week to have broken down.

A panel created by President Obama set a Dec. 6 deadline for a deal, after which, the unions can strike if they choose.

The House today turned away all four Democratic amendments to a bill aimed at overriding a National Labor Relations Board rule that would allow for faster union elections.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) said efforts to defund the National Labor Relations Board are an attack on workers’ rights.

House Republicans talked action as freight rail unions could strike as early as Dec. 6, choking the holiday shopping season.

GOP leaders said they are confident the Senate would support a bill to stop a strike during the holidays.

The resignation of the lone Republican on the National Labor Relations Board would essentially shut it down.

The House approved the rule for the bill, H.R. 3094, in a 239-167 vote.