Nancy Kassebaum: “I find it hard to think that the people of South Dakota would not be very supportive of the ability to have employers…”

“I find it hard to think that the people of South Dakota would not be very supportive of the ability to have employers and employees form teams in which they can talk about conditions in their own company. These teams clearly will enhance the quality of work, the quality of working relationships, and the productivity of the company. I think there is broad support for that. The distinguished majority leader indicated that President Clinton in the State of the Union speech mentioned the importance of working together as a team and how that enhances the productivity and the competitiveness of American industry. We all know how important that is today. The other side of the aisle suggests that the TEAM Act permits sham unions. That is not correct, Mr. President. The legislation does not permit sham unions in any way. The question was raised, why do we need the legislation? I would suggest that one of the reasons we need the TEAM Act is that we need clarity regarding the barriers in Federal labor law regarding worker and management cooperation.”