LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP
RESPECT would help all workers
Aretha Franklin said it best when she sang, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what
it means to me.”
Now the UAW is helping Congress find out what respect means to workers across the country. That is, among other things, passing the Re-empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act.
RESPECT, or H.R. 1644, would amend the nation’s labor laws to change National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions from 2006 that expand the definition of “supervisory employee” beyond Congress’ original intent. A narrow, partisan ruling which contradicts the original intent of the NLRA, these rulings strip potentially millions of workers from protections.
RESPECT would clearly state congressional intent to allow, rather than restrict, collective bargaining rights for as many workers as possible.
As Congress considers this important bill, UAW members are also tackling this issue at the bargaining table. At St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio, UAW bargainers negotiated to keep charge nurses in their unit.
“Thanks to the foresight of UAW negotiators, they made proactive proposals about charge nurses,” said Sue Pratt, a registered nurse and chair of their bargaining unit at St. Vincent’s.
“Because of that, we were on top of the issue, and got it on the
bargaining table first and were successful.”
Majority favor EFCA
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would change labor laws by requiring employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. It would also crack down on employer violations of the rights of workers seeking unionization or negotiating first contracts.
EFCA (H.R. 800, S. 1041) passed the House earlier this year. But a vote in the Senate recently failed when President Bush threatened to veto the bill and senators couldn’t muster enough votes to invoke cloture to stop a Republican filibuster against the motion to proceed. The vote was nine votes short to close the debate and bring it to a vote.
A bright spot: Union supporters have a bipartisan majority in the Senate and House on record in favor of EFCA, with greater support expected in Congress’ next session.
UAW backs Hill-Terry
The House passed an energy bill in August, but it didn’t include any provisions on CAFE standards.
“We absolutely need to put top priority on preserving good-paying manufacturing jobs in the domestic auto industry,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “The Hill-Terry bill is the only proposal before Congress that does this.”
The UAW supports a final energy bill compromise this fall with provisions that look more like the Hill-Terry bill than the Senate version, which contains extreme Corporate Average Fuel Economy provisions. Sponsored by Reps. Baron Hill, D-Ind., and Lee Terry, R-Neb., the bill would raise CAFE standards by as much as 40 percent by 2022.
