FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ryan Williams
February 14, 2017 202-677-7060

WFI Commends Subcommittee On Health, Employment, Labor & Pensions For NLRB Reform Hearing

“Restoring Balance And Fairness To The National Labor Relations Board” Subcommittee Hearing First Step Toward Reforming Out-Of-Control Agency

Washington, D.C. – Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) spokesperson Heather Greenaway released the following statement in support of today’s hearing on National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reform in the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce:

“Today’s hearing featured compelling testimony from several business leaders and organizations who have been personally impacted by the harmful regulations imposed over the past eight years. We applaud the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions – and particularly Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg – for holding this important hearing and examining the ways that we can unravel the Obama-era’s anti-business, pro-union boss rules and reduce the regulatory burdens imposed on America’s job creators. Restoring balance and fairness to the National Labor Relations Board should be step one for the new administration and Congress.”

BACKGROUND:

Ms. Reem Aloul: “The decision by government officials here in Washington to change the joint employer standard is a baffling one … The policy is so broad and unpredictable; it could be applied to nearly any conceivable business relationship … As a franchisee, one of many, joint employer unfairly changes the rules of business in the middle of the game. I invested a career’s worth of savings in this business. And now joint employer liability threatens everything I’ve worked for.” (Hearing, “Restoring Balance And Fairness To The National Labor Relations Board.,” U.S. House Committee On Education & The Workforce, 2/14/17)

Mr. Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr.: “The shortened time-frame for representation elections has adversely affected the ability of individual employees to fully educate themselves about the pros and cons of monopoly union representation … The new rules have violated workers’ privacy rights by requiring employers to provide employees’ personal contact information – including their phone numbers, email addresses, and work times – to union organizers, with no effective limitation upon to whom the information would be passed.” (Hearing, “Restoring Balance And Fairness To The National Labor Relations Board.,” U.S. House Committee On Education & The Workforce, 2/14/17)

Mr. Kurt G. Larkin: “Unfortunately and in stark contrast to the modest and gradual changes we have seen in previous administrations, the Board over the past eight years has produced some of the most drastic and one-sided policy changes in its history. In virtually every case, these changes have worked decided hardships on the employer community … While its efforts to rewrite American labor law have spanned a variety of issues, there is a common theme in most of the Board’s actions. In almost every instance in which the Board has changed the law in a manner it contends makes the Act more employee-friendly (some would say more union-friendly), its rationale underlying the change has been tone deaf to the realities of the American workplace and the challenges business owners of all sizes face in today’s economic landscape.” (Written Testimony, Kurt G. Larkin, 2/14/17)

Chairman Tim Walberg: “I would suggest to you that there is a reason why the NLRB is pushing to put arbitrary and artificial roadblocks and standards in the way to put the thumb on the scale to assist in stopping the slide in the growth of unions and to turn that around without the request of the employee themselves.” (Hearing, “Restoring Balance And Fairness To The National Labor Relations Board.,” U.S. House Committee On Education & The Workforce, 2/14/17)

  • “In the weeks and months ahead, we will do everything we can to turn back this failed, activist agenda and restore balance and fairness to the [NLRB]. We will work to protect the rights of workers and employers, and help create an environment where businesses can grow and workers can achieve a lifetime of success.” (Hearing, “Restoring Balance And Fairness To The National Labor Relations Board.,” U.S. House Committee On Education & The Workforce, 2/14/17)

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit: https://www.workforcefairness.com.

To schedule an interview with a Workforce Fairness Institute representative, please contact Ryan Williams at (202) 677-7060.

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Featured Blog

AZ Daily Sun--Coconino Voices: PRO Act legislation would hurt local businesses

— 05.13.2021 —
By: Julie Pastrik Arizona businesses and workers have had an incredibly challenging year given the economic slowdown that followed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, local businesses and industries across the state are resilient and on the road to a strong recovery that will mean more jobs for Arizona workers and increased economic development to strengthen our communities. That is, as long as Congress does not move forward with potentially devastating legislation that would hurt local employers and employees alike while impeding our state’s economic recovery. Unfortunately, some members of Congress seem determined to do just that by pushing through the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. As harmless as the name may sound, the PRO Act would have serious repercussions for local businesses, particularly smaller ones, while undermining long-standing rights for employees and threatening the growing gig economy that has helped provide much-needed income for so many during this time. Arizona is fortunate to have leaders like Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, who have both refrained from joining the vast majority of their Democratic colleagues in cosponsoring the PRO Act. In a slap in the face to Arizona workers, the PRO Act removes one of the most fundamental rights a worker has when it comes to voting in elections to determine whether to unionize: the secret ballot. Instead, workers could be forced to sign union authorization cards in front of other employees, their employer, or union organizers. This bill would also destroy workers’ right to privacy by allowing unions access to personal information, including their home address and personal phone number. If that doesn’t open the door to union intimidation and harassment, I don’t know what does. As if that was not bad enough, the PRO Act would create major new challenges for Arizona businesses, making it harder for them to create jobs, expand in their communities, and even keep their doors open. It would redefine what it means to be a “joint employer” under national labor law, greatly complicating existing relationships between franchisors and franchisees as well as between business owners, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors and suppliers. At the same time, it would interfere with attorney-client confidentiality and make it much more difficult for small businesses to secure a legal advice on labor issues. Particularly harmful during these times, the PRO Act would apply a failed policy from California to national labor law by using the “ABC” test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. This makes it much harder to qualify as an independent contractor, threatening the freedom and flexibility that tens of thousands of Arizonans find in independent contracting and gig economy work. Ultimately, the PRO Act is bad public policy that only works for union leaders to inflate their falling ranks while threatening workers’ rights, undermining small businesses, and jeopardizing a growing part of our economy. This is not a good solution for Arizona, and Senators Sinema and Kelly should stay firm and not cosponsor this misguided legislation.
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