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Lawmakers and witnesses debate secret ballots, card check and the NLRB’s blocking‑charge policy
Summary
Witnesses and members clashed over whether secret‑ballot elections should be required, the legality of card‑check recognition and the effects of a revived blocking‑charge policy that critics say delays elections.
A central theme at the House Education and Labor subcommittee hearing was how union representation should be chosen: by secret‑ballot elections, by voluntary recognition based on signed cards, or by a mix of methods authorized under the National Labor Relations Act.
Aaron Solum, a staff attorney at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, told the subcommittee the board’s prior actions had tilted procedures in favor of union officials and away from "employee free choice." "The Biden NLRB gutted that historic preference for secret ballot elections in favor of the card check process," Solum said in his opening remarks, and he described the blocking‑charge policy as a tool unions use to delay elections.
Witnesses who favored broader protection for employee organizing pushed back on claims that secret ballots had been eliminated. Jennifer Abruzzo, the former NLRB general counsel, said voluntary recognition through signed cards is part of the statute and that employees and employers can still seek a board‑conducted secret ballot. "Under the CEMEX decision, they can voluntarily recognize the union ... but they have the option under the CEMEX decision to file a petition and get a board conducted election," Abruzzo said.
Committee members cited several concrete examples during questioning. Aaron Solum pointed to an Apple Bus Company example in which union‑filed charges delayed an employer’s petition: the employer sought an election in 2017 but did not get one until 2019 after the union filed 15 blocking charges, eight of which were dismissed, and the union later disclaimed interest. Solum and other critics said the restoration of the blocking‑charge approach incentivizes meritless charges as delay tactics.
Proposals and legislative references: multiple members and witnesses referred to bills and proposals being circulated in Congress, including a Secret Ballot Protection Act, a Worker Enfranchisement Act, the PRO Act, and other measures that would alter when and how secret ballots, quorums and recognition operate. Witnesses disagreed on whether statute or board precedent governs those choices; Abruzzo emphasized that the NLRA allows voluntary recognition by card when a majority has indicated support, while critics sought statutory clarifications to safeguard secret ballots and regular election access.
The subcommittee did not vote on legislation. Lawmakers signaled continued interest in drafting statutory fixes or agency rulemaking to clarify when secret ballots are required and how blocking charges should be handled.
