After Public Radio Station Hires Notorious Union-Buster, Employees Likely to Lose Union Vote

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(In These Times) BALTIMORE – Union supporters at public radio station WYPR had their hopes crushed last week when a hearing officer for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recommended against counting all the votes in a closely contested election held earlier this year. The October 31 recommendation almost certainly means the union will lose the election when the NLRB issues its final determination in the coming weeks, and leaves little hope that the organizing drive can go forward.

Hearing officer Chad M. Horton’s report was critical to the drive by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) because the result of a July 30 election was so close. A preliminary count showed the union, which has a significant membership base in the public radio sector, losing by a vote of 9-11, but seven votes were not counted due to legal challenges from lawyers on both sides of the labor-management divide—including attorneys from the union-busting firm Jackson Lewis.

By the union’s reckoning, a favorable decision from Horton on the seven disputed votes would result in a tie, triggering a re-run of the election. Instead, Horton determined that two crucial pro-union votes should not be counted—effectively dealing an election defeat to the pro-union workers.

“This is a disappointing conclusion that reflects an imperfect process” by the NLRB and the managers of the radio station, according to a statement from the WYPR Organizing Committee. “A majority of the full-time regular production and news staff still believe that our workplace and work product would be improved by collective bargaining. … We are disheartened by management's decision to spend significant station resources to undermine our democratic effort. We hope they will commit as fully to making measurable improvements to the workplace and supporting the production staff.” ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17324/after_public_radio_station_hires_notorious_union_buster_employees_likely_to