Practice and Procedure Committee meets.

This blogger attended the Regional Meeting of the ABA Practice and Procedure under the NLRA Committee held today in New Orleans. This is a meeting where union and management representatives discuss procedural issues with NLRB personnel which may seem a little too "inside baseball" to some. Although not a true agenda item, EFCA was discussed. Since it remains unclear as to what a final Act will look like, little specific preparation has been undertaken by the Board. Also of note, case filings in Region 15 (New Orleans) in FY 2009 were close to 600. Decisions by the current 2 member (3 vacancy) NLRB have topped 500. Discussions about the effect of Dana/Metaldyne were also most interesting, although there had been a number of Dana Notices issued, only one election had been conducted, and the union won that election. We have consistently chided our friends representing labor that Dana/Metaldyne would have been an easier political sell than pure card check has been. These anecdotal statistics suggest it might also be a very effective alternative for labor to explore.