WASHINGTON, D.C. // APRIL 23, 2012 // Today, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) submitted a brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on one of the most significant and troubling cases recently decided by the National Labor Relations Board – Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile and United Steelworkers, District 9, 356 NLRB No. 56 (2010). The case is currently on appeal to the Sixth Circuit from the Board’s ruling last year.

At issue in Specialty Healthcare is whether Big Labor may organize by cherry picking groups of workers that support the union without providing many co-workers who may oppose the union an opportunity to vote. Such a ruling would reverse over 50 years of standards for bargaining units.

As a result of the decision, businesses could be forced to bargain with multiple unions for similarly situated employees, with each group of employees having separate wage schedules, benefit packages and work rules. Businesses, workers, consumers and the economy would suffer, as the negative impact on business productivity and competitiveness would be significant.

In its brief, CDW urges the Sixth Circuit to overturn the Board’s radical decision and restore the longstanding standard that had been in place for over 5 decades.