House GOP continues its misguided attacks on workers’ rights, ignores calls to work together on jobs
WASHINGTON – Despite calls from a bipartisan panel of governors last week to work together on job creation, House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans instead held their 6th hearing attacking the National Labor Relations Board.
“Last week’s hearing showed us that there are real opportunities where we can work together to rebuild our economy and reignite the American Dream…But that’s not what this hearing is about,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the committee. “Today is just another legislative day dedicated to divisive issues. It’s not about working together to find solutions to real problems.”
During the hearing last week, a bipartisan panel of governors urged members of the committee to work together on job creation and put divisive issues aside. The governors agreed that there are ways to help create jobs in their states, including increased investments in infrastructure, and workforce training.
However, today’s hearing called by the GOP majority explored the recess appointments that President Obama made to the National Labor Relations Board in January. Without these appointments, because of the expiration of a member’s term at the end of December, the NLRB would not have had enough members to form a quorum and, as a result, would not be able to render decisions. The NLRB is the only place where workers and businesses can go to have their rights enforced under the National Labor Relations Act. Senate Republicans have stated that they would block any nominees to the NLRB, and House Republicans engaged in maneuvers during the January recess in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the President from making recess appointments.
A witness who has represented workers including nurses, musicians, truck drivers, laborers and others, described the fallout if these efforts to shut down the NLRB had been successful.
“While all parties, and the public itself, would be victims, workers, who have the fewest resources, will pay the highest price,” said Susan Davis, an attorney with Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP. “The price of paralysis must be measured not only in lost wages and lost jobs, however, but in lost opportunities to bargain for a contract that will help move workers into the middle class and attain the American Dream.”
Instead of focusing on the pressing need to grow the economy and put Americans back to work, House Republicans have spent a year attacking workers and their labor rights.
Today was just the latest in a series of misguided attacks by Republicans and special interest groups against unions and the workers they support. Republicans have also pushed through special-interest legislation designed to dramatically weaken workers’ rights to a free and fair union representation election, attempted to defund the agency, passed legislation to take away any effective sanctions the NLRB can use to enforce laws protecting workers from retaliation, and interfered with ongoing enforcement actions.
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