David Obey: “Since its inception in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act has permitted workers to unionize and their union…”

“Since its inception in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act has permitted workers to unionize and their union representatives to be recognized by obtaining signatures in support from a majority of workers to be represented. Many large companies such as Cingular Wireless, Kaiser Permanente, and Harley-Davidson from my own State have voluntarily recognized their employees' desire for union representation using this type of majority signup procedure. By eliminating any funds for the National Labor Relations Board to enforce the laws, in cases in which the majority signup is used, the Souder amendment would gut this long-standing avenue for worker recognition. As a result, any unions already recognized and any contracts already bargained with unions that obtained recognition using this method would be thrown into legal limbo, and any otherwise applicable labor law protections would become unenforceable. That, to me, doesn't seem to make very much sense. I would urge opposition to the gentleman's amendment.”