NLRB Nominee’s Thesis “Instructively Incorrect”
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 by AdminRichard Epstein, the scholar who has written extensively about the flaws in the jokingly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, has turned his attention to the National Labor Relations Board nomination of Craig Becker. The nomination has troubled many employer groups because Becker’s writing history leaves much room for concern.
Over at Forbes, Epstein lays out his case against problems in the National Labor Relations Act and, in particular, Becker’s record:
For the record, I think that Becker’s thesis is instructively incorrect. The NLRA makes huge changes in ordinary common law rules under which the employer should have no say in union affairs. They don’t need that right because they may flat out refuse to bargain, and can make it very clear in advance that they won’t. But once the union is given that right, the remainder of the legal system has to be adjusted to constrain labor’s monopoly power. Employer speech to workers is one essential element of that new reality. Becker’s article thus lacks a consistent frame for employer speech.
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Tags: Craig Becker, National Labor Relations Board, Richard Epstein
