To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to representation hearings and the timing of elections of labor organizations under that Act.

Summary: Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to revise requirements for determination by the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) of an appropriate bargaining unit before an election of collective bargaining representation. (In effect reverses the NLRB's August 26, 2011, decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Mobile and its June 22, 2011, rulemaking regarding proposed changes to procedures involving the election of collective bargaining representation.)

Replaces the current restriction in the meaning of collective bargaining unit to employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision. Requires the NLRB, instead, to determine a unit as appropriate for collective bargaining if it consists of employees that share a sufficient community of interest. Specifies factors the NLRB must consider when making such determinations.

Prohibits exclusion of employees from the unit unless the group's interest are sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit.

Requires the NLRB, upon due notice, to provide a hearing at least 14 days after the filing of an election petition for collective bargaining representation to investigate those petitions the NLRB has reasonable cause to believe have a question of representation affecting commerce. Requires such hearings be non-adversarial.

Requires the NLRB to: (1) direct an election by secret ballot as soon as practicable, but in any event not before 35 calendar days following the filing of an election petition, in cases where a question of representation exists; and (2) acquire, at least 7 days after its final determination of the appropriate bargaining unit, a list of all eligible voters (including certain informational data) from the employer and make it available to all parties.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Democracy and Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TIMING OF ELECTIONS.

    Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``The Board shall 
        decide'' and all that follows through ``Provided, That the'' 
        and inserting: ``In each case, prior to an election, the Board 
        shall determine, in order to assure to employees the fullest 
        freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this Act, the 
        unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. 
        Unless otherwise stated in this Act, and excluding bargaining 
        unit determinations promulgated through rulemaking effective 
        before August 26, 2011, the unit appropriate for purposes of 
        collective bargaining shall consist of employees that share a 
        sufficient community of interest. In determining whether 
        employees share a sufficient community of interest, the Board 
        shall consider (1) similarity of wages, benefits, and working 
        conditions; (2) similarity of skills and training; (3) 
        centrality of management and common supervision; (4) extent of 
        interchange and frequency of contact between employees; (5) 
        integration of the work flow and interrelationship of the 
        production process; (6) the consistency of the unit with the 
        employer's organizational structure; (7) similarity of job 
        functions and work; and (8) the bargaining history in the 
        particular unit and the industry. To avoid the proliferation or 
        fragmentation of bargaining units, employees shall not be 
        excluded from the unit unless the interests of the group sought 
        are sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to 
        warrant the establishment of a separate unit. Whether 
        additional employees should be included in a proposed unit 
        shall be based on whether such additional employees and 
        proposed unit members share a sufficient community of interest, 
        with the sole exception of proposed accretions to an existing 
        unit, in which the inclusion of additional employees shall be 
        based on whether such additional employees and existing unit 
        members share an overwhelming community of interest and the 
        additional employees have little or no separate identity. 
        The''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), in the matter following 
        subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, but in no circumstances less 
                than 14 calendar days after the filing of the 
                petition'' after ``hearing upon due notice'';
                    (B) by inserting before the last sentence the 
                following: ``An appropriate hearing shall be one that 
                is non-adversarial with the hearing officer charged, in 
                collaboration with the parties, with the responsibility 
                of identifying any relevant and material pre-election 
                issues and thereafter making a full record thereon. 
                Relevant and material pre-election issues shall 
                include, in addition to unit appropriateness, the 
                Board's jurisdiction and any other issue the resolution 
                of which may make an election unnecessary or which may 
                reasonably be expected to impact the election's 
                outcome. Parties may raise independently any relevant 
                and material pre-election issue or assert any relevant 
                and material position at any time prior to the close of 
                the hearing.'';
                    (C) in the last sentence--
                            (i) by inserting ``or consideration of a 
                        request for review of a regional director's 
                        decision and direction of election,'' after 
                        ``record of such hearing''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``to be conducted as soon 
                        as practicable but not less than 35 calendar 
                        days following the filing of an election 
                        petition'' after ``election by secret ballot''; 
                        and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following: ``Not 
                earlier than 7 days after final determination by the 
                Board of the appropriate bargaining unit, the Board 
                shall acquire from the employer a list of all eligible 
                voters to be made available to all parties, which shall 
                include the employee names, and one additional form of 
                personal employee contact information (such as 
                telephone number, email address or mailing address) 
                chosen by the employee in writing.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 30, 2011.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.