On June 22, the residents and fellows of Loma Linda voted to join a labor union. The vote was 361 to 144 in favor of joining the union.
Curiously, the union received only 361 votes out of a possible of 805 – well less than half. A lot of potential voters either chose not to vote or failed to remember to do so. The old adage comes to mind,
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” — a quote attributed to Edmund Burke.
However, the union won the election because it only needed to win 50% + 1 of those who vote. On that scale, it won about 70% of the vote. Bottom line: LLU lost the union vote.
According to legal analysts, Loma Linda has a path forward.
The Path Forward
After the vote is certified, LLU could refuse to bargain with the union. That will cause the National Labor Relations Board to rule that refusing to bargain is an unfair labor practice.
That ruling is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals. This could get it out of the state of California, which is generally favorable to labor unions and often hostile towards Christian values.
LLU will likely file its appeal in the D.C. Circuit, which has precedent that is very favorable to LLU.
Labor Law is Specialized
LLU can not directly appeal the election to a federal court of appeals.
It appears that LLU is doing a good job in its legal fight. It has left no stone unturned.
When the case hits the Court of Appeals it is possible that a brief will be filed exposing the constitutional issues.
LLU is already arguing those issues, but it has several Labor law specific arguments it is making – and these are arguments of substance. That tends to dilute Constitutional Law (conlaw) arguments.
Individual physicians – observant Adventists - have their own conlaw arguments which could be raised.
It is possible that a new constitutional law could be created in connection with this litigation.
The state of California is very friendly to labor unions (no shock there), so the deck is somewhat stacked against LLU. The odds of this case getting to the U.S. Supreme Court is pretty good. Stay tuned.
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“The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force. In the world gigantic monopolies will be formed. Men will bind themselves together in unions that will wrap them in the folds of the enemy. A few men will combine to grasp all the means to be obtained in certain lines of business. Trades unions will be formed, and those who refuse to join these unions will be marked men” (2SM 142)
