Washington Republicans continue attack on workers’ rights
WASHINGTON – Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after House and Senate Republicans announced that they are introducing legislation to block a recent National Labor Relations Board rule that reduces the amount of wasteful pre-election maneuvering used by some employers to delay or deny workers’ right to a secret ballot election.
“Washington Republicans are once again pushing anti-worker special interest legislation instead of addressing the real problems facing our country. If successful, this legislation simply encourages frivolous litigation to delay secret ballot elections or to frustrate workers’ right to organize. The fact is, the NLRB’s reforms are just modest steps forward to help ensure that workers who want a secret ballot election get one without having to endure endless legal actions. It’s time that Washington Republicans end these special interest attacks and work with Democrats to put more Americans back to work.”
This is not the first time Washington Republicans have attempted to roll back workers rights. House Republicans pushed through special-interest legislation recently designed to dramatically weaken workers’ right to a free and fair union representation election. It was just the latest attack by Republicans and special interest groups against workers’ rights and the agency that enforces those rights since the beginning of the year. Republicans have tried to defund the agency, passed legislation to take away any effective remedies the NLRB can use to enforce laws protecting workers from retaliation, and interfered with ongoing enforcement actions. Only the NLRB can enforce workers’ and employers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
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