Senate votes to block worker protections, but Obama threatens veto

The Senate voted Wednesday to block a new rule streamlining and modernizing union representation elections, possibly setting the stage for President Obama's next veto. It's the latest step in the Republican and corporate assault on the National Labor Relations Board, which passed the rule in December to prevent bosses from stalling the election process by withholding information and filing frivolous lawsuits, stall tactics management commonly uses to buy time to intimidate workers away from the union.

If the NLRB rule is not blocked, either by legislation or by a Chamber of Commerce lawsuit, it goes into effect in mid-April. The congressional resolution to block it would be the second-ever use of the 1996 Congressional Review Act to block a regulation—funnily enough, the first regulation blocked under that act was also intended to protect workers.

The resolution, which required only a simple majority vote, now goes to the House, which is expected to easily pass it. However, the White House has issued a veto threat, saying that "The National Labor Relations Board's representation case procedures rule helps to level the playing field for workers so they can more freely choose to make their voice heard."