NLRB Issues New Regulations
August 26, 2011
New regulations issued by The National Labor Relations Board require companies to post notices on their bulletin boards that inform employees about their rights to unionize under federal law. Many workers are unaware of their rights and the new regulations will make it easier for workers to exercise their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. This new notice requirement will also seek to promote compliance by employers and labor unions.
Under this new rule, if employers post notices to employees regarding personnel rules on an Internet site, then it will also be required to post this new notice on those sites. For the first time since Congress passed the labor relations act in 1935, the board will probably require private-sector employers to post notices abut employees’ rights under the act. This rule will ensure that workers’ rights are effectively communicated in the workplace and there is no fear of exercising their rights.
According to the labor board, unionized and nonunion employers would have to post the new notice on rights to unionize since these rights apply to workers at union and nonunion workplaces. Private-sector employers are subject to the labor board’s jurisdiction.
One industry in particular that will benefit from this decision is the EMS profession. EMS professionals are largely underpaid and underappreciated across the country, so the benefit of joining the union will improve their workplace and industry as a whole.
“This is a great victory for EMS professionals,” said Phil Petit, national director of the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics. “This decision could become the vehicle of change for many EMS professionals who didn’t consider unionizing in the past. Now, more employees will reach out to unions in general and give the industry a united voice, which helps everyone push for a national standard for EMS and a stronger national presence for the entire industry.”