In response to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel’s filing seeking to re-establish the Joy Silk doctrine, the U.S. Chamber’s Senior Vice President for Employment Policy Glenn Spencer issued the following statement:
“This move by the General Counsel to force card check organizing on workers and employers represents a radical overreach and misunderstanding of the law. The doctrine is inconsistent with long-standing precedent, court rulings, and the text of the National Labor Relations Act. Congress has repeatedly rejected efforts to impose card check, and the General Counsel cannot do so outside of the legislative process. We will oppose this action with every tool at our disposal, including litigation if needed.”
The Joy Silk doctrine was rejected by the NLRB more than 60 years ago. It called on the NLRB in almost all cases to impose a bargaining order on employers when presented with signature cards purporting to represent the wishes of a majority of employees for union representation. This card check process has been found by courts and the NLRB itself to be inherently inferior to secret ballot elections. Congress has rejected every attempt to require card check recognition, most recently in the current session with the stalling of the PRO Act.
