crossposted from unbossed
This is the fifth in a series on pending bills to amend the National Labor Relations Act. The series so far has examined the RAISE Act. Prior parts may be found at my Daily Kos user page here. This part discusses a different bill.
The second bill amending the National Labor Relations Act that we’re looking in on is S.1227 / HR 2808 A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.
Thank goodness someone is worried about employers in these trying economic times. Really. I mean that. They have a lot on their plates what with banks folding and not lending money. And what with orders tanking. And what with having to tell employees the bad news, that they have no jobs.
So I am so happy that Senator DeMint of South Carolina and Representative Steve King from Iowa’s 5th District are taking action to protect employers. After all, if they can help pull employers out of their doldrums, then employees can be back at work, making money, and supporting their families and themselves.
And, because this bill has something to do with the National Labor Relations Act, I assume they are shoring up the provisions in Section 1 that state the Policies of the NLRA and explain why it was enacted.
The NLRA policies talk about depressions and depressed wages and how the NLRA was enacted to protect working conditions by giving employees the power that only comes with solidarity and organization.
The inequality of bargaining power between employees who do not possess full freedom of association or actual liberty of contract and employers who are organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association substantially burdens and affects the flow of commerce, and tends to aggravate recurrent business depressions, by depressing wage rates and the purchasing power of wage earners in industry and by preventing the stabilization of competitive wage rates and working conditions within and between industries.
Experience has proved that protection by law of the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively safeguards commerce from injury, impairment, or interruption, and promotes the flow of commerce by removing certain recognized sources of industrial strife and unrest, by encouraging practices fundamental to the friendly adjustment of industrial disputes arising out of differences as to wages, hours, or other working conditions, and by restoring equality of bargaining power between employers and employees.
More here.
So it is with great excitement that I turn to the text of the bills to see just how these great men - nay, these great statesmen - plan to protect employers and thus their employees and get us on the track to prosperity.
So . . . hmmm hmmmm hmmm reading reading reading.
S.1227 : A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.
Sponsor: Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] (introduced 6/10/2009) Cosponsors (3)
Mr. DEMINT (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. BUNNING, and Mr. VITTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R.2808 : To amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.
Sponsor: Rep King, Steve [IA-5] (introduced 6/10/2009) Cosponsors (19)
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 10, 2009
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PAUL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. MARCHANT, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. MACK, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. BUYER, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. ROONEY, and Mr. PAULSEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL To amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Truth in Employment Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:
(1) An atmosphere of trust and civility in labor-management relationships is essential to a productive workplace and a healthy economy.
(2) The tactic of using professional union organizers and agents to infiltrate a targeted employer's workplace, a practice commonly referred to as `salting' has evolved into an aggressive form of harassment not contemplated when the National Labor Relations Act was enacted and threatens the balance of rights which is fundamental to our system of collective bargaining.
(3) Increasingly, union organizers are seeking employment with nonunion employers not because of a desire to work for such employers but primarily to organize the employees of such employers or to inflict economic harm specifically designed to put nonunion competitors out of business, or to do both.
(4) While no employer may discriminate against employees based upon the views of employees concerning collective bargaining, an employer should have the right to expect job applicants to be primarily interested in utilizing the skills of the applicants to further the goals of the business of the employer.
(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to preserve the balance of rights between employers, employees, and labor organizations which is fundamental to our system of collective bargaining;
(2) to preserve the rights of workers to organize, or otherwise engage in concerted activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act; and
(3) to alleviate pressure on employers to hire individuals who seek or gain employment in order to disrupt the workplace of the employer or otherwise inflict economic harm designed to put the employer out of business.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYER RIGHTS.
Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)) is amended by adding after and below paragraph (5) the following:
`Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring an employer to employ any person who seeks or has sought employment with the employer in furtherance of other employment or agency status.'.
Wow!!!
Imagine my shock and surprise! This is what will help employers in these trying times??!!??
It’s just an anti-union bill!!!
The bill is about employers being able to not hire people who try to get hired by employers with a view to organizing them. These folks are called Salts. Well, that’s the usual term, but the folks behind the bill probably call them something, well, unprintable.
The NLRA in Section 8(a)(3) makes it an unfair labor practice to discriminate against an employee because that employee supports a labor organization a/k/a a union. And salts support unions more than most.
For those who aren’t familiar with salts and salting, unions turned to this tactic in the early 1990's. A salt makes a pretty good organizer, because the salt is an employee and can easily talk with other employees. And a salt is unafraid of losing a job for organizing.
As you can imagine employers hate hate hate salting. Here is a piece of advice by a law firm on how to handle salting.
Notice that the use the term "merit shop" to refer to nonunion employers.
As in unionized workplaces don’t worry about issues of the meritoriousness of their employees. And as in unionized workers are lazy slugs.
Like, for example, oh . . .say .. . Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III, of US Airways Flight 1549
And for more on this subject from a post back in January.
When the planes go down, the union workers get going
The happy ending to what could have been tragedy yesterday - when the engines on USAir flight 1549 went out - was brought to you courtesy of union workers.
Conservatives have constructed a fantasy world in which union workers are lazy slugs pulling down huge paychecks and unbelievable benefits while destroying their employers. Case in point: the reaction to the unionized sectors of the automobile industry bailout - which asked for pennies compared to the mega bucks shoveled into the troughs from which the nonunion financial industry sups.
You would think it was a cardinal sin to pay workers well and to let them have respect and decent treatment at work.
Yes, the enemies of labor are committed to constructing a tale of the horrors of unionization. They constantly and consistently act against the interests of the plain working stiffs - ie most of us, suggesting we regular people deserve no more than crumbs from the banquet table of this still wealthy nation.
But they are so wrong.
Union workers regularly have shown themselves to be heroes, and that is especially true for public sector union members, who - if you recall - were the police and firefighters who rushed into the burning buildings on 9-11.
That heroism and public service continued yesterday. The passengers on that US Air flight owe their lives to union workers - public and private sector union workers.
As Ron Moore observed:
It's really remarkable. Everyone involved but the Coast Guard were union members - from the ALPA pilots, to the AFA flight attendants, to the Seafarer NY Waterway captains, to the union cops and firefighters.
And the captain who piloted the plane to safety under extreme conditions? He is a union activist.
Captain Sullenberger is a former safety chairman, accident investigator and national committee member for the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA). His ALPA safety work led to the development of a Federal Aviation (FAA) Advisory Circular.
As is the case with unions, he did not act alone in this amazing event. The unionized flight attendants were key players working amidst frightened passengers to make sure no life was lost.
Flight attendants on US Airways flight 1549, members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, played a pivotal role leading their passengers to safety. In a statement, union president Patricia Friend, said: "We applaud our AFA-CWA flight attendants for their professionalism in today's emergency water landing. Flight attendants are highly trained safety and security professionals and today’s successful evacuation is an overwhelming example of the necessary role flight attendants serve on board the aircraft. Flight attendants receive extensive training on emergency evacuations and each year they undergo additional training to ensure their proficiency."
Union workers are all around you every day, doing the work that keeps this nation running. Their union membership and affiliation is not worn on their sleeves. Their unions protect them from unfair treatment and fight for decent work and living conditions for them.
Exactly what these quiet heroes deserve.
So, on behalf of union heroes everywhere, let's hope that these two bills go down to defeat. And let's hope that the sponsors of these bills can spend some time on the real problems this country faces.
I would say that Mr. DEMINT, Mr. WICKER, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. VITTER, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PAUL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. MARCHANT, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. MACK, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. BUYER, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. ROONEY, and Mr. PAULSEN could learn a thing or two about what it means to be an American and a hero if they'd spend more time with union folks and waste less time playing games like this.