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Moving in the Right Direction

Republicans Continue Fight to Protect Workers and Rein in an Activist NLRB

Yesterday, in a victory for workers and employers, the House Education and the Workforce Committee voted to approve the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 3094).   

This important legislation rolls back recent activist actions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that seek to limit employers’ free speech and workers’ free choice. The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act reins in this culture of union favoritism and reaffirms the protections workers and job-creators have received for decades.  

Despite Democrat efforts to undermine workers’ rights through a number of amendments, committee Republicans defended employees’ privacy and their right to a secret ballot in a union election.  

Recent headlines highlight why the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act is necessary reform that will roll back the extreme agenda of the NLRB: 

Daily Caller – The proposal “gives employees a choice in how a union may contact them.”

The proposal also gives employees a choice in how a union may contact them. Under current law, employers must turn over names and addresses of employees to unions during election periods. Kline’s bill gives workers the choice of listing a home address, a phone number, or an email address… [The] bill would require that workers have at least 35 days to hear a wide variety of arguments before a union election is held… In August, Obama NLRB appointees shortened these processes — allowing companies just seven days to prepare for an NLRB case, and giving employees as few as ten days to prepare for a union election. (F. Vincent Vernuccio, “GOP jobs plan: Rein in ‘rogue’ NLRB,” 10/26/2011)  

Washington Times – “Republicans want workers to have more time to consider and make an informed decision on whether to unionize.”

The House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday passed another bill designed to curb the power of the National Labor Relations Board… This latest fight is over what Republicans call “quickie elections” on workplace unionization. Republicans want workers to have more time to consider and make an informed decision on whether to unionize... (Tim Devaney, “House panel OK’s bill to limit NLRB.” 10/26/11) 

Bloomberg – Republicans are “seeking to curtail the board’s power.”

“We will not stand by and allow a board of bureaucrats to impose sweeping changes to our economy, especially in the midst of the current national jobs crisis,” Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and chairman of the committee said today during the committee’s debate on the measure… Kline is leading Republicans in seeking to curtail the board’s power after the NLRB in April sued Chicago-based Boeing Co. for building a factory in nonunion South Carolina to retaliate for strikes at its Seattle-area hub. The House passed a bill on Sept. 15 targeting that action. (William McQuillen and Holly Rosenkrantz, “Curb on Labor Board’s Speedy Union-Vote Plan Advances in House,” 10/26/11)

Though Democrats continue to put the interests of Big Labor ahead of the nation’s workers, Republicans remain committed to pursuing commonsense solutions that strengthen the nation’s workforce. 

To learn more about the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act, click here.  

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