WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today criticized the Senate’s failure to pass a resolution of disapproval that would have prevented “ambush” union elections. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and 44 of his Senate colleagues introduced the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows either the Senate or the House of Representatives to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval with the full force of law to stop a federal agency from implementing a recent rule or regulation. Enzi’s resolution failed by a vote of 45-54.

“The NLRB’s ambush election rule is just another example of an Obama Administration power grab that gives political favors to Big Labor at the expense of local job creators,” said Thune. “This new federal regulation will be especially harmful to small business owners, who may need to quickly hire expensive legal counsel in order to comply with the rule. With nearly 13 million Americans currently unemployed and unemployment above 8 percent for the past 38 months, it is unfathomable that our president thinks Washington should pile more regulations onto the backs of America’s job creators.”

Currently, the average timeframe for a union election to be held is 38 days and the “ambush election” rule will shorten this timeframe to as few as 10 days, giving local business owners little time to comply with the legal intricacies—including hiring lawyers—that they must adhere to during the representation election process.

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