On the recordNovember 18, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this rule and to the underlying bill, H.R. 3094, the so-called Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act. Since the start of the 112th Congress, a certain faction guiding the Republican majority has undertaken what amounts to a full-scale attack on America's working families and America's working class and against the bedrock principles that have helped create America's middle class. This latest effort is more of the same. The so-called Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act is another piece of legislation that weakens the rights and protections that workers have fought long and hard to obtain. Section 9(b) of the National Labor Relations Act gives employees the right to organize in ``an appropriate unit,'' giving them choice on how best to bargain with their employer. And that's all this is about. When an employee group organizes, all it requires is that they sit down across from their employees and bargain, talk to them about terms and conditions of employment and benefits. What this bill would do is establish a one-size-fits-all approach to organizing, forcing together employees who have very little in common and making it much more difficult to organize. That's gerrymandering, basically, to protect employer interests, plain and simple. But this bill doesn't stop at changing existing rules, however.…
