Political Quotes

“I will take 3 minutes. First of all, in response to my friend from Georgia--and he is my friend; he is a great guy--this person, Ms. Polaski, Under Secretary of Labor, may have written a letter, but as Under Secretary of Labor she does not work for the National Mediation Board. She does not necessarily have the experience of interpreting its laws or procedures. That is the job of the National Mediation Board itself and of Federal judges, which, I have to remind you, upheld the Board's actions 100 percent in this matter. Secondly, on the matter of decertification, I strongly disagree with my friend from Georgia. There is a procedure under the National Mediation Board, as under the National Labor Relations Act. If a person wants to get rid of the union under the NMB, they can file a petition, if they can get 50 percent plus one person to show an interest--quite similar to the National Labor Relations Act. If they can get 50 percent, they can file a petition with the NMB. The NMB then has an election. If that person wins, that person is not represented by any union, so the union is gone. There is just a little bit of a difference from the National Labor Relations Act, but the outcome is basically the same. So there is a way. The Senator is right. I would say my friend is right; it is not a formal decertification. But it is a way of getting rid of the union, one way or the other.…”