Tom Harkin: “a couple things. I keep hearing it stated that: ambush elections. I want to point out, there is no timetable set in…”

“a couple things. I keep hearing it stated that: ambush elections. I want to point out, there is no timetable set in these rules--none whatsoever. I keep hearing: 10 days and 7 days and all that. That is not set. There are no timetables at all. As I pointed out, 90 percent of NLRB elections are conducted under voluntary agreements between the parties, and those procedures are unchanged. The current median time right now between when a petition is filed and when an election occurs is 37 to 38 days. Jackson Lewis, the Nation's biggest management-side law firm, said that--their attorney Michael Lotito told the Wall Street Journal he thinks the time under these rules would be shaved to between 19 and 23 days. Joe Trauger, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, says the elections would be held in 20 to 25 days under the new rules--hardly an ambush election. The other issue I want to briefly mention has to do with the contacts--contacting and the right of privacy I heard here. Right now, the only way a union can contact people is at their homes--at their homes. The only information the union is allowed to get after the petition is filed is the addresses of the workers, their home addresses. What the Board is considering--but has not implemented--is allowing unions to have access to e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers. Well, it seems to me that is a lot less intrusive than going to someone's home.…”