Labor board doesn't have timetable on NFL's claim vs. union

Wednesday, February 16 2011

The National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday that it doesn't have a firm timetable for determining if the NFL's claim against the NFL Players Association has merit.

The NFL filed the claim Monday, stating the NFLPA hasn't collectively bargained in good faith and seeking a pre-emptive ruling to eliminate the union's ability to decertify following the March 3 expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

The NFLPA decertified in 1989, and while the union's subsequent lawsuit (Reggie White vs. the NFL) was heard, the players continued to play under the then-current rules. Many labor experts expected a similar tactic this offseason in the event of a lockout, with decertification a means of keeping games played in the interim, albeit under current labor rules which the players favor and the league wants altered.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith met with each team this season to conduct votes on possible decertification in the event of a lockout or league-imposed rules this offseason. The measure passed unanimously.

Nancy Cleeland, director of public affairs for the National Labor Relations Board, explained the process for investigating a claim like the NFL's and said there is no firm timetable on how long it could take. She also said at this point it is undermined if, by merely filing the claim, the NFL would in effect preclude the union from decertifying until a ruling is made by the NLRB.

"Can there be a decertication election while a charge is pending? That's something our general counsel will have to decide," Cleeland said.

The NLRB will thoroughly investigate the matter -- one labor source said the process in general isn't particularly speedy and tends to be time-consuming and exhaustive -- beginning with regional field staff and/or staff attorneys interviewing members of both negotiating parties, pouring over records of each session, what was proposed and whether or not parties showed up on time. They will try to determine if the NFLPA has in fact been "surface bargaining," in essence putting forth minimal offers with the intent of eventually decertifying, Cleeland said, a charge the union flatly denies.

"We will be trying to figure out if they have been 'surface bargaining,' and quite frankly, that's tricky to determine," Cleeland said.

"But we do get that charge quite a bit," she said, adding that it's generally made by unions against management/ownership.

If the initial investigation results in a claim being filed by the NLRB, there normally would be a formal hearing during which officials on both sides would be required to answer questions (Cleeland said "the vast majority" of claims are settled by the parties involved or are dismissed, stressing this was a generality without speaking in any way to the merits of the NFL's case).

Cleeland also detailed the actual process by which a union can decertify.

In most cases, an "election" would take place, with at least 30 percent of the union required to actually sign the petition to decertify. The NLRB would oversee the election process, "ensuring the vote count, making sure the rights of the voters are protected," Cleeland said, and making sure it is done in private.

Voting potentially could be done via voting booths, by mail and also over the internet, Cleeland said, but the NLRB is currently researching whether or not an election would be required in the case of the NFLPA. She said there could be provisions in the CBA that supersede the need for an election, and the NLRB also is reviewing the steps the union took in 1989 as it seeks to determine if an election would be required again.

The NFL is aiming to make the entire process a moot point with Monday's claim. (source NFL.com)