Lincoln Chafee: “Now, what the TEAM Act says is that it is perfectly permissible for an employer to sit down with a group of his…”

“Now, what the TEAM Act says is that it is perfectly permissible for an employer to sit down with a group of his employees and say, what do you think is the best way to make this place more efficient? Or how can we make this place safer? Or what can we do to increase our productivity? Now, apparently--and I must say I was stunned to learn this--that is illegal. You cannot do that. Now, of course, it is happening across the country, but if it is discovered it is illegal, you can be hauled up before the National Labor Relations Board. There is something about this that has an Alice in Wonderland complex to it. What is going on in the United States of America when an employer cannot say to a group of workers out there, the fellow down the road is producing our product at a lower price and faster than we are. What can we do to improve our productivity? And so they give him some suggestions. But it turns out that is against the law. It is against the National Labor Relations Act which was passed in 1935.”