The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) modest, common-sense proposed rule to remove roadblocks for workers who want to vote on whether to form a union has drawn praise from working men and women, political leaders and activists around the country. Here’s a sample of the comments:

Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin Hill:  

By eliminating delays, the board is not only bringing some balance. It is also saving money for taxpayers who foot the bill because of unnecessary litigation.

Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen:

Workers at T-Mobile USA and nearly every other company know firsthand how U.S. corporations use delay to keep workers from making a fair choice about union representation. The changes proposed by the National Labor Relations Board are a first and modest step toward ending some of that delay.

AFT President Randi Weingarten:

By cleaning up and modernizing the system, these proposals will help level the playing field for workers, ensuring they have a fair chance to vote….The board’s proposed changes won’t fix all of those problems, but they are a step in the right direction.

United Steelworkers (USW):

The proposal would remove unfair obstacles so that workers who petition for a vote on whether to form a union can have a vote.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.):

Around the world, the United States advocates to help ensure that working people have a voice in determining their future; this will help guarantee the same opportunities for workers here at home. 

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa):

I applaud the NLRB for taking a significant step forward in restoring the middle class by proposing rules to fix the broken union election process. 

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.):

 This rule is fundamentally American because it protects workers’ rights to choose to have a union or to choose not to—and that’s a choice we believe in as a matter of principle.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.): 

 [The proposed rule] would help give workers the same ability to bargain for wages and benefits now enjoyed by CEOs—whose pay has skyrocketed while their employees continue to struggle.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.):

Workers and businesses across America deserve to have a fair and modern union election process, and the NLRB’s common-sense rule proposal will go a long way toward making that happen.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.):

We need an economy that works for everyone and that means giving workers the right to organize and negotiate. This rule will ensure that workers can exercise their rights under the law in a timely way.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.):

Endless red tape shouldn’t get in the way of allowing workers the freedom to decide if they want to form a union. The new rules proposed by the NLRB will help ensure workers can hold fair elections in a timely manner. 

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.):

This proposed rule change is about fairness–giving workers updated organizing tools they can use to negotiate good wages and good benefits.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.)

The proposed changes, while certainly not solving all the difficulties workers face when attempting to exercise their rights, reduce opportunities for bad actors who want to obstruct or interfere with an election.

Sarah Fox, former member, National Labor Relations Board:

These are modest and common sense reforms that seek to address a serious and long-recognized problem.

Kimberly Freeman Brown, executive director of American Rights at Work:

As the gap between everyday Americans and corporate CEOs continues to widen, the proposed rule is a modest but welcome step toward restoring balance to our economy and rebuilding the middle class.

John Podesta, president of Center for American Progress:

The same crowd that is trying to take away collective bargaining rights in the states is opposing a modest improvement to give workers a fairer, more standardized process for voting to join a union.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous:

In a time where the rights of working families and union members are under assault, and corporations are using extreme tactics to discourage the formation of unions, the NLRB stood up for the hard working American men and women today. 

Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice:

I applaud this terrific ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, which will allow workers a fair opportunity to decide for themselves whether they want to form a union.