CWA: House Legislation 'Full of Malicious Intent' to Destroy Labor Unions

On Wednesday, CWA General Counsel Jody Calemine testified at a House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing on three bills that deny workers' their right to bargain for better wages and working conditions. These bills undermine the union election process, a critical step towards workers joining together for a stronger voice in the workplace.

The "Employee Rights Act" (H.R. 2723) rigs union elections by treating every employee who did not vote as having voted against the union. The "Employee Privacy Protection Act" (H.R. 2775) prohibits unions from having the same access to employees' contact information as the employer during the election process, preventing employees from being informed about union representation. And the "Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act" (H.R. 2776) mandates arbitrary waiting periods that delay elections and empower employers to gerrymander the voting composition of bargaining units by adding employees who have expressed no interest in joining the union.

"These bills are chock full of malicious intent to render elections absurdly undemocratic, strip workers of rights, take control of unions away from union members, drain union treasuries, and otherwise destroy labor unions," said Calemine at the hearing. "In provision after provision, an already tilted playing field is tilted even further against the American workers. These bills don't reflect sound policy or an attempt at consistent application of rules – but are a naked political assault on labor unions and nothing more."

Read the full testimony from Calemine here.