Asa Hutchinson: “my amendment will allow employers to permit solicitations by charitable groups without subjecting themselves to what I…”

“my amendment will allow employers to permit solicitations by charitable groups without subjecting themselves to what I believe is unfair and frivolous union litigation. It may sound odd that a law is needed to protect charitable giving, but currently when an employer permits such solicitations, it is likely to be found by the National Labor Relations Board to have engaged in unlawful discrimination unless it provides unions equal access to the employer's property to engage in solicitation or distribution for union purposes. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the need for legislation of this type has never been greater. Currently, the NLRB interprets, I think wrongly, the National Labor Relations Act to require that a retailer that regularly allows charities or civic organizations to solicit or distribute material on the retailer's premises must also grant similar access to labor unions who are seeking to organize the retailer's employees attempting to communicate a message to the retailers' customers. Because of this, many of the Nation's largest retailers have adopted blanket no-solicitation rules which, unfortunately, include charitable organizations, to avoid being found in violation of unfair labor practices.”