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ICYMI: House Committee Passes Bill to Rein in NLRB

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2011
Republicans on the House workforce committee passed a bill Thursday that would bar the government from dictating where companies can do business – taking direct aim at the National Labor Relations Board’s complaint that Boeing Co. illegally shifted work from union plants in Washington state to a new nonunion facility in South Carolina.



House Committee Passes Bill to Rein in NLRB

By Melanie Trottman  

Republicans on the House workforce committee passed a bill Thursday that would bar the government from dictating where companies can do business – taking direct aim at the National Labor Relations Board’s complaint that Boeing Co. illegally shifted work from union plants in Washington state to a new nonunion facility in South Carolina.

Rep. John Kline (R., Minn.) The Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act is aimed at stopping the NLRB from moving ahead with its complaint, which, if successful, would make Boeing move the production line for the 787 Dreamliner jet to Washington state. The company has said its decision to place the 787 assembly line in South Carolina wasn’t intended to punish union workers in Washington state for past strikes, as the NLRB alleged.

The bill passed the House Education and the Workforce Committee on a 23-16 party-line vote, But it’s unclear when the full House might consider it, and it’s not likely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Republicans say the NLRB, an independent government agency that’s controlled by Obama administration appointees, has gone too far and needs to be stopped with legislation.

“Republicans refuse to allow federal bureaucrats to reverse the business decisions of employers,” Committee Chairman John Kline (R., Minn.) said at the committee meeting Thursday. The bill, he said, “takes a critical step to provide employers with the certainty they need to put Americans back to work, right here at home.”

The legislation would prohibit the NLRB from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer a business under any circumstance.

Democrats said the bill would recklessly expose workers to discrimination by removing key NLRB remedies needed to punish bad employers.

“The question before this committee is whether or not we’re going to strip away the rights of workers,” said Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.), the committee’s senior Democrat. “This is about whether you can retaliate” against workers for exercising their rights.


Read more about the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act:

Committee Approves Legislation to Protect American Jobs, Remove Barriers to U.S. Investment

America's Job Creators Rally in Support of the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act

Washington Times

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