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S 1507 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

S. 1507CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

August 2, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. BURR, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Employee Rights Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT.

(a) Unfair Labor Practices- Section 8(b)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘interfere with’ before ‘restrain’CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Representatives and Elections- Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (a)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by striking ‘designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining’ and inserting ‘for the purposes of collective bargaining selected by secret ballot in an election conducted by the Board,’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by inserting before the period the following: ‘: Provided further, That, for purposes of determining the majority of the employees in a secret ballot election in a unit, the term ‘majority’ shall mean the majority of all the employees in the unit, and not the majority of employees voting in the election’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) Not later than 36 months after the initial certification of a labor organization as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, and each 3-year period thereafter, a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer and the labor organization involved, after a notice period of not less than 35 days, shall conduct a secret ballot election among such employees to determine whether a majority desire to continue to be represented by such labor organization. The cost to the third party that is conducting the election shall be shared equally by the labor organization and the employer involved. The election shall be conducted without regard to the pendency of any unfair labor practice charge against the employer or the labor organization representative and the Board shall rule on any objections to the election pursuant to its established timeframes for resolving such matters. If a majority of the votes cast reject the continuing representation by the labor organization, the Board shall withdraw the labor organization’s certification.’CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Fair Representation in Elections- Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘prior to an election’ after ‘in each case’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subsection (c)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in the flush matter following paragraph (1)(B)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by inserting ‘of 14 days in advance’ after ‘appropriate hearing upon due notice’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by inserting ‘, and a review of post-hearing appeals,’ after ‘the record of such hearing’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) by adding at the end the following: ‘No election shall be conducted less than 40 calendar days following the filing of an election petition. The employer shall provide the Board a list of employee names and home addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days following the Board’s determination of the appropriate unit or following any agreement between the employer and the labor organization regarding the eligible voters.’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing of any petition unless and until--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing officer in accordance with due process on any and all material, factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Director, subject to appeal and review, or by the Board.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) No election results shall be final and no labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative of the employees in an appropriate unit unless and until the Board has ruled on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before the election; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accordance with due process and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election.’CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Penalties- Section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting after the second sentence following the second proviso, the following : ‘Any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise of their rights under section 7 to form or join a labor organization or to refrain therefrom, including the filing of a decertification petition, shall be liable for wages lost and union dues or fees collected unlawfully, if any, and an additional amount as liquidated damages. Any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced an employee in connection with the filing of a decertification petition shall be prohibited from filing objections to an election held pursuant to such petition.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959.

(a) Definition- Section 3(k) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 402(k)) is amended by striking ‘ballot, voting machine, or otherwise, but’ and inserting ‘paper ballot, voting machine, or electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting booth and’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Rights of Members- Section 101(a)(1) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following ‘Every employee in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership status in the labor organization, shall have the same right as members to vote by secret ballot regarding whether to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against their employer.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Right Not To Subsidize Union Nonrepresentational Activities- Title I of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 106. RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE UNION NONREPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

‘No employee’s union dues, fees, or assessments or other contributions shall be used or contributed to any person, organization, or entity for any purpose not directly germane to the labor organization’s collective bargaining or contract administration functions unless the member, or nonmember required to make such payments as a condition of employment, authorizes such expenditure in writing, after a notice period of not less than 35 days. An initial authorization provided by an employee under the preceding sentence shall expire not later than 1 year after the date on which such authorization is signed by the employee. There shall be no automatic renewal of an authorization under this section.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Limitations- Section 101(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) Limitation- No strike shall commence without the consent of a majority of all employees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote conducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer and the labor organization involved. In any case in which the employer involved has made an offer for a collective bargaining agreement, the employees involved shall be provided with an opportunity for a secret ballot vote on such offer prior to any vote relating to the commencement of a strike. The cost of any such election shall be borne by the labor organization.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Acts of Violence- Section 610 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 530) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘It shall’ and inserting ‘(a) It shall’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, through the use of force or violence, or threat of the use of force or violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to restrain, coerce, or intimidate any person for the purpose of obtaining from any person any right to represent employees or any compensation or other term or condition of employment. Any person who willfully violates this subsection shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) The lawfulness of a labor organization’s objectives shall not remove or exempt from the definition of extortion conduct by the labor organization or its agents that otherwise constitutes extortion as defined by section 1951(b)(2) of title 18, United States Code, from the definition of extortion.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink