April 30, 2012 is the day that the NLRB's new quickie election rules go into effect. These are significant changes to the election rules that organized labor has sought more decades. The changes will make it significantly harder for an employer to get an opportunity to get its message out once a petition has been filed. It will also increase the risks employers will have to take to campaign effectively after the petition is filed.

There is a potential that there will be a spike in union organizing and in election petition filings as unions may have held back for these rule changes to take effect. Prudent employers will be proactive as to their messages regarding the issues of union organizing, because although a union will be able to campaign for months before it files its petition, after it does, there may very well be just a few days before the Board rushes to an election.