It has been decades since substantial reforms were made to our nation’s labor laws. The last major updates to the National Labor Relations Act were passed during the administrations of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower in a world decidedly different from the one we live in today.
It is past time Congress reexamines the rules that govern the American workplace and make needed improvements to protect the rights of the American worker.
The Employee Rights Act (H.R. 3222), which we introduced earlier this Congress along with a companion bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would lead the way in applying a series of improvements to the National Labor Relations Act. The solutions in our legislation would empower employees who are represented by, or are considering the representation of, private-sector unions.
Under current law, once a workplace is unionized, it is very difficult for employees — even a generation later — to revisit or reconsider that decision. This has left countless workers without a real choice in whether to have union representation. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 7 percent of private-sector union members (one out of 14) voted for the union that represents them.
Our legislation would give more of today’s workers a voice. For any union which has a membership of greater than 50 percent of workers who have never voted to be a part of that union, we would direct the National Labor Relations Board, within three years of the passage of the bill, to hold an election so the employees can determine whether or not to recertify that union.
Individual union members are a diverse lot politically. But right now, union members are not given the option to decide for themselves how they want their union dues utilized. Instead, union leaders make those decisions. Our bill would let union members decide if they wish to have their hard-earned dollars used for political purposes.
For years there has been an effort underway to implement a new rule — commonly referred to as “card check” — that would deny union members their right to a secret ballot in union elections.
The Employee Rights Act would guarantee a secret ballot, not only in union elections but also when determining whether members wish to declare a strike. Additionally, rather than have a small minority determine the outcome of such an election for their fellow workers, our legislation puts into law a stipulation that says, in order to unionize a workplace, a majority of all employees must have voted in favor of that decision.
Lastly, we believe that no worker should have to fear or suffer violence or coercion in their place of employment. That is why we would institute reforms to make it a federal crime for union leadership or employers to intimidate employees who are exercising their rights — particularly when deciding whether to continue union representation. It would also safeguard worker privacy by granting union employees the ability to opt out of sharing personal information with a union during an organizing campaign.
Not surprisingly, these common-sense solutions enjoy overwhelming support from the public, including union employees. A large number of colleagues in both chambers of Congress have cosponsored our legislation. And yet, sadly, there are still many in Congress fighting to defend the interests of union leadership at the expense of workers.
Our aim is simple: protect the rights of the individual worker. The Employee Rights Act would meet that goal and in so doing improve and strengthen America’s workforce to compete in a 21st entury global economy.
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is chairman of the House Budget Committee.
