NLRB could certify McDonough Ecolab employees’ vote against union

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) soon could certify the vote employees at Ecolab’s McDonough location cast against the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union, Southeast Council (RWDSU).

RWDSU officials filed objections after the election, hoping to reverse the vote. However, a regional NLRB official ruled March 11 “the Union’s objections should be overruled in their entirety.”

The RWDSU did not appeal, according to an organization involved with the vote.

The process began in November, when Ecolab employee Irvin Arnold submitted a “decertification petition,” prompting the NLRB to conduct an election to decide whether the union should be scrapped at the facility. In December, Ecolab employees voted 31-29 against RWDSU.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation provided Arnold with free legal representation. Group officials said they took advantage of union election rule changes the foundation backed and the NLRB adopted in 2020.

Previously, unions delayed decertification elections by filing “blocking charges,” foundation officials said. The group noted RWDSU officials used a similar approach at a Bessemer, Alabama, Amazon facility to overturn an April 2021 election and force a revote, which is set to start Monday.

“While we’re pleased the NLRB rejected RWDSU officials’ attempt to overturn Ecolab workers’ clear vote to remove the union, this case shows the underhanded tactics union bosses frequently turn to in order to undermine the rights of independent-minded workers,” National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens told The Center Square.

“As demonstrated in both this case and the Alabama Amazon employees’ vote, when RWDSU officials lose an election their go-to tactic is to ask the NLRB to overturn the result,” Semmens said. “Unfortunately, time and time again union bosses put their own power and interests ahead of the wishes of rank-and-file workers and rely on legal trickery to trap workers in union ranks instead of attempting to win workers’ voluntary support.”

An RWDSU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article was originally posted on NLRB could certify McDonough Ecolab employees’ vote against union