Secret Ballot Protection Act
The Secret Ballot Protection Act, introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, would fundamentally change how labor representation is recognized and decertified under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The bill would require that any recognition or bargaining with a labor organization be based on a National Labor Relations Board–conducted secret-ballot election, rather than through private recognition or agreement. It expands the Board’s role to ensure that representation is determined by majority support in a secret ballot, adds decertification elections to periodically verify continued majority support, and broadens prohibitions on employers recognizing or bargaining with unions that have not been majority-supported in a secret ballot. The act also directs a regulatory overhaul by the NLRB within six months to implement these changes. Transitional rules state that existing collective bargaining relationships or recognition prior to enactment are not affected.
Key Points
- 1Recognition or bargaining with a labor organization must be based on a secret-ballot election conducted by the Board in accordance with section 9, and only with a majority-approved representative. This applies to new recognition or bargaining arrangements; existing relationships recognized before enactment are exempt.
- 2The NLRA’s §8(b) is amended to prohibit employers from causing or attempting to recognize or bargain with a labor organization that has not been chosen by a majority of employees in a unit for that purpose in a Board-conducted secret-ballot election.
- 3Section 9 is reshaped to require that designation or selection of a representative occur via a secret-ballot election administered by the Board, and it adds a decertification mechanism to determine if a current representative is no longer the unit’s choice.
- 4Conforming amendments to §9(c)(1) adjust related language to reflect the emphasis on Board-conducted secret ballots and to remove references that imply private recognition could be used to define representation.
- 5The National Labor Relations Board must complete a regulatory revision, within 6 months of enactment, to implement all amendments and align existing regulations with the new requirements.