Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s litigation center, the Center for the American Future, sued the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for violating the First Amendment in its unlawful attempt to silence employer speech. The NLRB’s new interpretation of “unfair labor practices” prohibits employers from speaking about unionization to employees. This clearly violates the First Amendment as all Americans, including employers, have free speech protections.
“It’s a basic principle in this country that the government doesn’t get to pick the side of a debate that it likes and silence the opposition,” said Chance Weldon, Director of Litigation for the Center for the American Future. “That principle doesn’t change just because the debate occurs on a shop-room floor, rather than in a townhall or on Twitter.”
“Like all Americans, employers have free-speech rights under the First Amendment,” said Matt Miller, Senior Attorney for the Center for the American Future. “That certainly includes the right to convey simple, truthful information about unionization to their employees.”
“Employees should be able to make a decision about unionizing with the best available information,” said Nate Curtisi, Attorney for the American Future. “This new directive from the NLRB’s General Counsel prefers to keep employees in the dark. Such a law is not only a bad idea; it’s also unconstitutional.”
You can view the entire Complaint here.
For more information on the Center for the American Future, click here for the webpage.