NLRB-Conducted Elections Will Be More Patriotic
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) modified its election procedures earlier this month to incorporate the display of an American flag at all Agency-conducted elections. According to the NLRB’s announcement of the new protocol, the display of the national flag “will impress upon all of the participants to elections – employers, unions, and, most importantly, voters – the solemnity and importance of the Agency’s election process,” particularly for “new immigrants to our country [who] may be participating in free and fair elections for the first time.” Field personnel conducting Agency elections will supply the flags and will be trained in flag etiquette.
Not everyone is pleased with the NLRB’s new policy – or at least with the rationale behind the policy. For example, a posting on the website of the pro-union organization American Rights At Work states: “In reality, NLRB elections bear no resemblance to political elections, and fall alarmingly short of the democratic process Americans envision when we use the term ‘election.’” Advocates for pro-union and union-free groups both typically argue about the fairness of the NLRB’s election procedures. Too bad they cannot at least agree on the NLRB’s new flag policy.
