Kevin Kane, president of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, issued the following statement denouncing so-called “micro unions” and the related threats as he perceives them:

For almost a decade, Louisiana’s job creators have been hit hard by hurricanes, a recession and a massive oil spill. The last thing they need is to be burdened by a complicated and unfair collective bargaining process allowing the formation of micro-unions. Senators Landrieu and Vitter can protect our local businesses by opposing the forced unionization schemes advanced by President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board.

Micro unions are nothing more than an attempt by Big Labor to try and force their will on employees by dividing up the workplace, hand selecting members and unionizing them. If allowed to stand in Louisiana, this will inundate local businesses with red tape and overbearing legal costs. This would kill jobs instead of aiding in the economic recovery.  We believe Louisiana’s leaders at every level of government should oppose these micro-unions.

The issue of micro unions arose recently when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) approved an application by part-time and full-time employees to form an individual bargaining unit for the second and fifth floor women’s shoe departments of New York City retailer Bergdorf Goodman. The NLRB action follows a decision by the board in 2011 in the Specialty Healthcare case that upended nearly a half a century of labor law and allowed for the proliferation of these small unions in American workplaces. The resulting policy creates division, discord and disharmony in workplaces throughout the country – including the Pelican State – as micro-unions negotiate against one another, while employers become entangled in a costly mess of competing demands and red tape.

The move is the latest by Big Labor to try and address dwindling membership and diminished political power. If left unchecked, micro-unions could soon find their way to Louisiana companies. They would result in greater unemployment and business closures, and deserve the opposition by both Senators Landrieu and Vitter.