*email An Email from the NLRB relating to the “Bold and the Beautiful” on desertification !!

An Email from the NLRB relating to the “Bold and the Beautiful” on desertification

This is the email I received from is Mr. Tony Bisceglia at the NLRB following a conversation concerning “The Bold and Beautiful” cast, and desertification.

Confirming our phone conversation this morning, if a desertification petition is filed at the proper time in the proper bargaining unit with the proper 30% showing of interest required, the NLRB will conduct an election (assuming there are no legal issues that would prevent us from doing so). The incumbent union would be in the ballot and the choice would be either “yes” or “no.” For the incumbent union to win the election, they would have to have 50% plus 1 vote in its favor. If the Union lost the election, there would be no bargaining representative, any contract would be canceled, and we would not conduct another election for a year in the event that the employees wanted to get the same union or another union in. However, if the Employer wanted to recognize a union that had authorization cards for a majority of the unit employees, it could do so, in theory the day after the election. (However, it would be best for the Employer to wait until the Certification of Results issued from this office about 1 ½ to 2 weeks after the election.)

If the employees wanted to decertify the incumbent union, but wanted to have another union, the other union could intervene in the proceedings and be placed on the ballot with as little as one union authorization card. The employees would then have the choice of either union or no union. The only issue that might prevent one of the unions from being on the ballot would be if both unions were affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In that case, the no-raiding machinery would be activated. See Sections 11017 to 11019 of the Board’s Representation Case Handling Manual on the web at www.nlrb.gov. The no raiding machinery is voluntary, but we will hold the case temporarily to allow the two unions to resolve the issue.

My work e-mail is tony.bisceglia@nlrb.gov I hope this has been helpful.

As you can see the idea that that any cast of any AFTRA Show would have to wait for a year before they could vote to have another union certified is without merit. Yes, the fact that both unions are in the AFL-CIO could present a difficulty, but one that could easily be solved by SAG leaving the AFL-CIO, a very real possibility considering the AFL-CIO’s dual standard on raiding.

Also, it is my understanding that the employers, in the case of “The Bold and The Beautiful,” have no problem going with SAG--and should they decide to do so, and since the dual card holding cast seems to be amenable, it simply would have to wait until its contract expired to do so.

But, even if they didn’t, there is nothing to prevent the cast from going to a union like the Teamsters, in fact, there is nothing to prevent SAG in going to the Teamsters, opening up the possibility of any AFTRA cast, unhappy with inferior contracts and residual giveaways decertifying AFTRA and going to SAG.