I watch the bills that come across my senators’ and congressmen’s desks, and if I feel strongly about a bill, I might talk about it on Facebook and send an email to my politicians. But I admit I don’t actually send those emails very often. So when my regular email from www.congress.org came, listing the newest bills, I expected another list of outrageous stuff that either didn’t really matter to me or I’d seen in the news and trusted it would get knocked down. Today, though, one of the bills on the plate is H.R. 2587–the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act. I remembered this as being a reaction to a recent ruling by the NLRB against Boeing for moving to a state that is much less unionized. So…anti-union, right? To be expected from Republicans, nothing new, right? I thought, until I read the actual text, that this would only affect a company looking to move its operations.
Wrong.
So very, very wrong.
This bill goes far beyond party lines. This bill is completely ANTI-AMERICAN WORKER.
Here’s the part that troubles me:
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF THE NLRB.
Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘: Provided further, That the Board shall have no power to order an employer (or seek an order against an employer) to restore or reinstate any work, product, production line, or equipment, to rescind any relocation, transfer, subcontracting, outsourcing, or other change regarding the location, entity, or persons who shall be engaged in production or other business operations, or to require any employer to make an initial or additional investment at a particular plant, facility, or location.’.
For those really interested in the research, I’ll paste some info about what the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) does down below. Basically it’s the courtroom for business. If you choose to sue a company for wrongful termination, whistleblowing retaliation, pay disputes, or any other violation of federal labor law in the private sector you go before the NLRB to make your case. Removing their power to punish the businesses that commit the crimes is akin to putting a serial murderer to trial, convicting him, and setting him free because the judges don’t have the power to inflict punishment. In essence, this takes away the worker’s right to restitution.
Think Wal-Mart nation, only worse. Much, much worse.
What can you do? I’m going to make it super-easy because we’ve got to get as many people as possible to join in on this. Go to
www.popvox.com and search H.R. 2587. Click on OPPOSE, and when it comes up with “Tell Congress why you oppose H.R. 2587″, click “Yes, I have a personal story to tell my Members of Congress.” Then cut and paste the below message or compose your own. When you go through the process and click “finish” your email will be automatically sent to your local senators and representatives. Then spread the word. This isn’t about Republican, Democrat or Purple People Eater. This is about the American private sector employee.
I oppose H.R. 2587: Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act because it’s one thing to prevent the NLRB from relocating a business. It is another entirely to restrict the NLRB from reinstating employees who were terminated wrongly, forcing companies to pay restitution for their errors and ensuring a fair and competitive workforce. If H.R. 2587 were to pass, it would give companies free reign to do as they please. A company could be sued, but no real punishment could be issued. It would be like convicting a child rapist and releasing him because the law prevented punishment from being issued to the criminal. It’s unacceptable that the Republicans are trying to get this in under the public’s nose by saying it’s only about Boeing. This is an attempt to undermine the labor movement in such a way as to take us to pre-depression era work conditions and I for one am not going to sit idly by while our government screws the ENTIRE AMERICAN WORKFORCE. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your reply advising that you agree and will not vote for this bill which effectively takes away the worker’s voice.
Come on, folks. This is one of those “if not us then who?” moments. Just a few minutes of your time…
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