REAGAN STACKS THE DECK AT THE NLRB

The Reagan Administration's anti-union bias has been manifested in appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Reagan appointments include: 1. Robert Hunter, a leader in the defeat of labor law reform in the 96th Congress, 2. John Van de Water, a management consultant, and 3. Donald Dotson, whose staff includes an attorney from the National Right to Work Committee. Previous administrations have sought the advice of labor leaders on potential nominees and tried for an ideological balance in key personnel. Reagan appointees have made it clear that they want to decontrol the representation process when it favors employers, but they take no such approach when the process intrudes into internal union affairs. Reagan appointees consistently have defended managerial prerogatives at the expense of employee rights. In one case, Hunter and Van de Water disagreed with a majority decision that an employer who closes a part of its operations and subcontracts the work must bargain over the decision as well as the decision's effects. Other cases are discussed.