Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, my amendment prohibits funds to finalize the Federal Labor Relations Authority's proposed rule which would restrict Federal employees' ability to opt out of membership in a labor union. I am not against the union, per se, but the right for someone to opt out. They should have that right. In its Janus decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that government employees have a First Amendment right to retain their jobs while choosing to abstain from funding or participating in a public-sector union. However, the Federal Labor Relations Authority has proposed a rule to violate the intention of that ruling. First, it restricts Federal employees to a limited window each calendar year to opt out of having union dues deducted from their paychecks. Then, preposterously, it requires agencies to assume that employees who have already opted out of paying dues want to resume paying dues in the future, which requires the employee to then opt out again. This is not the intent of the Supreme Court decision. The employees should be empowered and not basically hemmed in by a regulatory rule. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”