Senate

Senate sets up vote to override NLRB veto

by Jordain Carney - 04/30/15 6:44 PM ET

Senators will vote Monday on an override for President Obama’s veto of a union elections bill.

Obama vetoed the proposal last month, after Congress passed a resolution of disapproval on a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulation to speed up union elections.

Republicans argue the rule, which they refer to as the “ambush election” rule, would increase pressure on workers and employers and not allow enough time to prepare for a union election.

{mosads}The president said last month that the legislation would reverse “common-sense, modest changes to streamline” the union voting process.

“One of the freedoms of folks who live in the United States is if they choose to join a union, they should be able to do so,” he told reporters. “We shouldn’t be making it impossible for that to happen.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), announcing next week’s schedule Thursday evening, said senators should expect a vote on the president’s veto Monday at 5:30 p.m.

It’s unlikely that Republicans have the votes needed to override the president’s veto. Senators passed the resolution of disapproval in March by a 53-46 vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would need to convince more than a dozen Democrats to change their position to be able to get the 67 votes needed to override a veto.

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