Nick Rahall: “It's very clear that the other body would not accept this amendment if the bill goes over to them with this in it. It's…”

“It's very clear that the other body would not accept this amendment if the bill goes over to them with this in it. It's clear that the President of the United States would not accept this bill with the current language because he has already said he will veto it if it comes to his desk in this way. So I guess the proponents of this particular provision are just wanting to continue to pass extension after extension, thereby threatening airport improvement, threatening to halt airport construction, just as they're threatening to shut down our government. It's not about unions. It's not about increasing union representation. It's about fairness. It's about what's right for the American worker. That's all we're talking about in this particular amendment. Mr. Chair, this amendment is about what's right for American workers. Section 903 of the bill repeals a rule of the National Mediation Board, which is the law of the land, that was finalized to provide for fair and democratic union elections among airline and railroad workers. The rule has not opened the floodgates to unionization. But it has made union elections fair. Under the prior rule--the rule that would be reinstated by this bill--a majority of all eligible voters had to vote in favor of a union, in order .for that union to be certified by the National Mediation Board as their representative. That was undemocratic and unfair.…”