Tony Thurmond: “President Clinton recently issued an Executive order to ban the use of permanent replacement workers during labor…”

“President Clinton recently issued an Executive order to ban the use of permanent replacement workers during labor disputes involving Government contractors. The Secretary of Labor would have the responsibility to enforce the order by asking Federal agencies to cancel existing contracts, or ban violators from future contracts. This Executive order is contrary to current law and, therefore, improper. It will deny to Federal contractors a legal right which is available to all other businesses; namely, the right to respond to union economic warfare by hiring permanent replacement workers. This is a fundamental legal right of all employers and should not be eliminated by Executive order. This administration asserts that the Executive order is simply a procurement policy under the discretion of the President. Yet, Congress has dealt decisively with this issue over the past 4 years by consistently rejecting legislation with the same objective as this order. Furthermore, the right to hire permanent striker replacements has been Federal law for 60 years. Let me repeat that--60 years. Banning the use of permanent replacements by Federal contractors through Executive order is an improper intrusion into the province of the legislative branch of Government. This Executive order violates the congressional mandate of Federal Government neutrality in labor disputes. Current Federal labor laws are designed to strike a very delicate balance between management and labor.”