Chuck Schumer: “I rise today to oppose H.R. 3246, another attempt by this Republican Congress to cripple the ability of working men and…”

“I rise today to oppose H.R. 3246, another attempt by this Republican Congress to cripple the ability of working men and women of America to organize. At the beginning of the 20th century, workers organized in order to attain a better standard of living for their families. As we approach the end of the century, unions still serve this noble purpose. The bill before us is another partisan attempt to end unions as we know them. H.R. 3246 would debilitate unions by putting a scarlet letter on union organizers. Title I of this legislation makes it legal for companies to discriminate against job applicants who have been involved in union organizing. Furthermore, it would overturn a unanimous 1995 Supreme Court ruling that allows unions to place organizers in jobs for the purpose of organizing a particular shop. The workers in my home state of New York cannot afford to lose these protections. Just this month, a U.S. District Judge ordered a company in Syracuse to rehire Kathy Saumier and Clara Sullivan. These two women had been fired for trying to organize a union at the plant because of unsafe working conditions. Under this law, those women would still be jobless because of their activism on behalf of their co-workers, In fact, companies could refuse to hire workers like Kathy Saumier and Clara Sullivan simply because they might become leaders. That is unfair. That is un-American. Mr. Chairman, to protect American workers, we need to preserve their right to organize.”