ABC of Texas and the Central Texas Chapter of ABC filed a lawsuit Jan. 13 challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election final rule. The suit was filed jointly with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. 

In filing the lawsuit Josh Tompkins, president of ABC’s Central Texas Chapter said, “We are proud to join the legal fight against the ambush rule, which is designed to deprive employers, particularly small businesses who typically do not employ legal counsel, of the opportunity to tell their side of the story during organizing campaigns.” “Not only does this rule rob employers of their due process rights, but it also mandates the distribution of employees’ personal contact information to union officials, creating a major privacy concern for employees,” added ABC of Texas President Jon Fisher.

Geoff Burr, ABC National vice president of government affairs applauded the Texas chapters’ efforts: “The ambush election rule further demonstrates the NLRB’s unabashed support of Big Labor’s agenda and its abandonment of its traditional role as a neutral arbiter of labor law. Simply put, this rule is bad policy that was promulgated in an improper way and we will continue to work to overturn it through every available avenue.”

ABC has consistently opposed the NLRB’s ambush election rule as unfair to employers and employees and has raised privacy concerns over the proposal’s distribution of employees’ personal contact information, including in testimony before the NLRB in April 2014. In addition, ABC along with more than 1,200 ABC members filed comments in April 2014 requesting the NLRB withdraw the controversial rule.

Both ABC and NFIB will be represented by the Texas office of Litter Mendelson, ABC’s general counsel, in the case.