Employee Rights Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and select representation to collectively bargain.
Adds a requirement that representatives be selected by secret ballot in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by a majority of the employees in a unit. Defines "majority" for purposes of determining the majority of employees in an election to mean the majority of all employees in the unit, and not the majority of employees voting in the election.
Requires a neutral, private organization, chosen by agreement between an employer and a labor organization that is the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, to conduct a secret ballot election by the employees, every three years after the labor organization's initial certification, to determine whether a majority desire to continue to be represented by that labor organization.
Requires the NLRB to decide, before the election of a labor organization as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all employees of an appropriate unit, whether such unit shall be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision unit.
Requires the NLRB to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing when it is investigating an election petition if it has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation affecting commerce exists.
Revises the requirement that the NLRB direct an election by secret ballot, and certify its results, whenever it finds upon the record of such a hearing that a question of representation exists. Adds a requirement that the NLRB also review all post-hearing appeals before finding that such a question exists.
Prohibits an election less than 40 calendar days following the filing of an election petition. Requires an employer to provide the NLRB a list of employee names and home addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate unit or following any agreement between the employer and the labor organization regarding eligible voters.
Prohibits an election after the filing of a petition unless and until: (1) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing officer on any and all material, factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and (2) the issues are resolved by a regional Director, subject to appeal and review, or by the NLRB.
Declares that election results shall not be final nor any labor organization be certified as a bargaining representative unless the NLRB has ruled on: (1) each pre-election issue not resolved before the election; and (2) the NLRB conducts a hearing and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election.
Makes any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise of their rights to form or join a labor organization or to refrain from forming or joining (including the filing of a decertification petition) liable for lost wages and unlawfully collected union dues and fees, if any, and an additional amount as liquated damages.
Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) to permit an election by secret ballot to be conducted through votes cast by electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting booth.
Requires every employee in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership status, to have the same right as members to vote by secret ballot to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against their employer.
Prohibits the use of an employee's union dues for any purpose not directly related to the labor organization's collective bargaining, unless that employee authorizes such expenditure in writing.
Prohibits a strike 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.
Makes it unlawful for a person to use force or violence, or threaten the use of force or violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate a person, or attempt to, in order to obtain from any person any right to represent employees, compensation, or other term or condition of employment. Subjects persons who willfully violate such prohibitions to both civil and criminal penalties.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1507 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1507
To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to
select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor
organization.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2011
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 Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to
select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor
organization.
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 ``Employee Rights Act''.
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''
(b) Representatives and Elections.--Section 9 of the National Labor
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(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,'';
and
(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''; and
(2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
``(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.''
(c) Fair Representation in Elections.--Section 9 of the National
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``prior to an
election'' after ``in each case''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the flush matter following paragraph
(1)(B)--
(i) by inserting ``of 14 days in advance''
after ``appropriate hearing upon due notice'';
(ii) by inserting ``, and a review of post-
hearing appeals,'' after ``the record of such
hearing''; and
(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.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing of any
petition unless and until--
``(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; and
``(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Director,
subject to appeal and review, or by the Board.
``(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--
``(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before the
election; and
``(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accordance with due
process and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or
results of the election.''
(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.''.
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''.
(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.''.
(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:
``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.''.
(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:
``(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.''.
(e) Acts of Violence.--Section 610 of the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 530) is amended--
(1) by striking ``It shall'' and inserting ``(a) It
shall''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(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.
``(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.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5265-5266)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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