House Committee Takes an Axe to Job-Killing Union Measures

This morning, the House Committee on Appropriations issued a press release regarding its Draft Fiscal Year 2012 Labor, Health and Human Services Funding Bill.

Within the text of the release, there are some specific union-payback items that the Committee knows are harmful to the creation of jobs and are, as a result, taking an ax to.

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If the appropriations bill is passed, with their oxygen supply cut off, both of the unions’ main weapons in their war on job creators—the Department of Labor and the NLRB—would be significantly curtailed.

Here are the relevant sections [with emphasis].

Reducing Harmful Red Tape and Increasing Oversight – To increase oversight over taxpayer funds and improve the effectiveness of DoL programs, the legislation requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct two studies: 1) an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of job training programs; and 2) an evaluation of the “skills-mismatch” problem within these programs to ensure that the training provided is adequate to meet the employment needs of local businesses and the demands of the current marketplace.

In addition, the legislation includes several provisions that are designed to foster a pro-job growth environment by reducing or eliminating the Administration’s aggressive regulatory overreach. Some of these include:

  • A provision prohibiting the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) for federal construction projects.
  • A provision prohibiting the “Right to Know under the Fair Labor Standards Act” regulation that requires employers to meet excessive documentation requirements when hiring contractors.
  • A provision that prohibits federal employees from participating in union activities while “on the clock” for their official duties.
  • A provision prohibiting the implementation of the so-called “Persuader” regulation that would interfere with employers’ access to specialized, legal counsel during union organizing campaigns.
  • Several provisions related to the H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Programs to reduce unnecessary regulations and costs to employers.

[snip]

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – The bill includes $234 million for the NLRB – a decrease of $49 million (-17%) below last year’s level and $54 million (-19%) below the President’s budget request. In addition, the legislation includes several provisions intended to stop the NLRB’s harmful anti-business regulations that would impose additional and excessive costs on American businesses, increase job loss, and further hinder economic growth. These provisions include: a prohibition on establishing micro-unions; a prohibition on eliminating secret ballot elections; a prohibition on “quick-snap elections”; a prohibition on the implementation of “e-Card Check,” which could promote coercion in union elections; and a prohibition on aggressive regulatory overreach on the small business community.

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Read the entire release Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives release here.

While Congress has been, thus far, unable to stop the job-destroying regulatory overreach of the union appointees within the Obama administration, since Congress does hold the nation’s purse strings, it does have the ability to cut off the oxygen of these job killers by cutting off their funding.

It’s time to put pressure on the Congress to do the right thing and cut off these job killers.

Call on your representatives to make sure they don’t drop the ball on this one.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com.

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