Thomas Daschle: “The practice of permanently replacing workers who are exercising their right to strike, as guaranteed by longstanding…”

“The practice of permanently replacing workers who are exercising their right to strike, as guaranteed by longstanding Federal labor law, is wrong. It is wrong to punish striking workers for exercising their rights, and it is wrong to use replacement workers to disrupt the collective bargaining process. Since 1935, the National Labor Relations Act has expressly protected the right of workers to strike over economic conditions. Moreover, the act promises workers that they cannot be discharged by their employer for exercising this right. Under current interpretations of the law, employers are not violating the National Labor Relations Act when they hire replacement workers during a strike and promise to make those positions permanent. Rather, these employers are taking advantage of a true anomaly in Federal labor law, one which sets out a dubious distinction between firing a striking worker and permanently replacing that worker. To the worker, however, it is of little comfort to know that he or she has been permanently replaced rather than fired. The result in both cases is the same, and the right to strike becomes a right to lose your job. I believe strongly that the Congress must pass legislation to get rid of this anomaly in Federal labor law. Unfortunately, a minority of the Senate was able to block passage of such a bill last year.”