Harry Reid: “I acknowledge the great work the Salvation Army does. Bell ringing time is fast approaching. I hope we are not here when…”

“I acknowledge the great work the Salvation Army does. Bell ringing time is fast approaching. I hope we are not here when they are ringing their bells. Anything that happens now under the present rules and laws with the NLRB does not prevent a single Salvation Army person from taking their bucket and ringing a bell. I know of not a single case that the NLRB has brought against an establishment for having Salvation Army people collecting money there--none. This is a guise, in my opinion, to keep unions out of these places. Maybe somebody wants to try to organize Wal-Mart. I don't know of anyone who does. Maybe they do. The Salvation Army is entitled to fairness. But so are workers. We do not need to pick on Wal-Mart. We have talked about Wal-Mart. Of course this applies to businesses other than Wal-Mart. These businesses should be treated no differently tomorrow than they are today. I think it is totally appropriate that we look; if someone is abusing what they are doing with charitable donations, then the NLRB can take a look at it. But there are no cases where that has happened. This is only an effort to inflict further punishment on the organized labor movement in this country. No one wanted to prevent, either prior to September 11 or after September 11, charitable organizations from being charitable or collecting money. I understand the intentions of my good friend from Arkansas, but I believe this amendment would do far more harm than it would do good.”