AWMA recently signed on a letter as a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace that urges Congress’s support for HR 2587, the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act.  The coalition was created to combat the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” or “card check” that posed a real threat to workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.   

A similar threat has recently arisen within the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Department of Labor that would allow the NLRB to conduct representation elections in as few as 10 days after a union files a petition – as opposed to the current median of 38 days between petition and election.  This reduced time frame would not allow employers enough time to secure the legal counsel necessary or talk to their employees about union representation or to respond to the promises that union reps may have made to gather union support, even though many of these promises may be unrealistic.

The bill we are supporting, HR 2587, would prevent the NLRB from ordering any employer to relocate, shut down, or transfer a business under any circumstances.  In a statement by Chairman John Kline (R-MN) after the House Education & the Workforce approved the bill, he stated that the measure “takes a critical step to provide employers with the certainty they need to put Americans back to work.”

HR 2587 is now awaiting floor action in the House of Representatives.  House Republican leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) stated recently that the bill is a “critical, commonsense proposal to prohibit the NLRB from picking winners and losers on behalf of big labor.”