House Democrats Blast Bill Barring NLRB Action

Companies Would Face No Penalties for Moving Work to Avoid Unions

At a U.S. capitol news conference Tuesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) decries the GOP's war on workers. Behind her is Wisconsin IAFF President Mahlon Mitchell and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

Below: CWAers were among about two dozen union members at the news conference.

Calling it an "outsourcers' bill of rights," U.S. House Democrats are condemning the Republican's newest attack on workers, a bill that would bar the National Labor Relations Board from penalizing companies that close plants and move work to avoid unions.

Republicans pushed H.R. 2587 through committee without a hearing and the full House may vote as soon as today. The bill was designed to punish the NLRB for its case against Boeing, charging that the company broke the law by moving work from Washington state when employees there exercised their legal right to strike.

H.R. 2587 comes as Republicans mark 200 days of House leadership — 200 days without a single jobs creation bill, despite what their campaign rhetoric promised last fall, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said.

Standing with CWA and other union members at a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday, Pelosi, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) blasted the state and federal attacks on workers' rights and their economic security.

"Two hundred days without any serious attempt to create jobs," DeLauro said. "Instead, they put forward a bill this week that tries to eviscerate unions and accelerate the race to the bottom."

The room full of unionized workers included IAFF firefighters from Wisconsin. Their state president, Mahlon Mitchell, described how his members didn't just say "No" but "Hell, No" when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told them they'd be spared from his attacks on the bargaining rights and benefits of other public employees.

"We all know the truth, which is that eliminating collective bargaining has nothing to do with balancing budgets," Mitchell said. "It's about shifting the balance of power and silencing workers."

Mitchell urged workers, union and non-union, "to reclaim our moral outrage" and see the collective assaults for what they are: "An attack on our way of life."

Click here to see the full news conference on C-Span.