Over the years I have talked with many owners and managers of woodworking companies that have union shops. Having union employees can be of benefit especially to architectural wood manufacturers that operate in union towns like Chicago, because some high-ticket projects require subcontractors to the shop to be unionized.

I have also spoken with owners of union shops in which contract negotiations bogged down, leading to an ugly strike, not only crippling production of jobs in production but straining employee-management relationships in the aftermath of a collective-bargaining settlement.

On the face of it, I’m not pro-union or anti-union. It depends on the time and place to judge whether or not a union makes sense. I also don’t have a problem with government protecting the rights of workers to unionize but I do have a problem with the feds requiring businesses to promote unionization.

That’s why I, like many small business proponents, oppose the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) new rule to requiring an estimated 6 million businesses to post an 11- by 17-inch notice explaining a worker’s right to bargain collectively, distribute union literature and engage in other types of union activities without reprisal from management. Companies that fail to display the poster will be considered in violation of fair labor practices.

The rule was scheduled to take effect Nov. 14. But following lawsuits filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and National Federation of Independent Business, the NLRB opted to delay implementation until Jan. 31, 2012.

Pending the outcome of the lawsuits, the delay merely amounts to a stay of execution for mainly small and mid-sized companies, including wood shops, already struggling to make ends meet amid a worrisome economy. But even in better times, it would be wrong for the NLRB to issue a mandate for businesses to affix posters promoting the right to unionize on company bulletin boards. If this is not a case of NLRB over stepping its bounds, then perhaps it should also consider allowing companies that already have unions to post information stating that workers also have a right not to unionize.

Ain’t gonna happen.

I and many readers of this blog would not doubt be interested in your thoughts and/or experiences of unionizing a wood plant.

Read more of Rich Christianson's blogs.

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