WASHINGTON – This week, a divided National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a long-awaited final rule speeding up the union election process, a significant policy change that will strengthen the power of labor unions.

The rule will require businesses to postpone virtually all litigation over eligibility issues until after workers vote on whether to join the union, thereby depriving management of a stall tactic that unions widely claim benefits the employer. In effect, regional NLRB directors will be given broad discretion to rule such litigation unnecessary until an election takes place.

The regulation, which will go into effect in April 2015, will eliminate a previously required 25-day period between the time an election is ordered and the election itself, and it will require employers to furnish union organizers with all available personal email addresses and phone numbers of workers eligible to vote in a union election. Another recent NLRB decision essentially prohibited employers from denying union organizers access to company email. The rule will also, for the first time, allow for the electronic filing and transmission of union election petitions.

The regulatory shift represents a clear victory for a labor movement, although the initial response to the new rule from labor was somewhat muted. However, business’s initial reaction was heated. “It’s clear the Administration has an aggressive agenda to uproot longstanding and effective labor policy,” said Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, in a written statement, as reported by Politico. “Shortening the time frame before an election robs employees of the ability to gather the facts they need to make an important and informed decision like whether or not to join a union and denies employers adequate time to prepare.”

A legal challenge from business groups is all but certain, and Timmons and National Retail Federation Vice President David French both told news sources that their respective groups were weighing that option.