I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1529

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to allow labor management

cooperative efforts that improve economic competitiveness in the United

States to continue to thrive, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 30, 1993

Mr. GUNDERSON (for himself, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LIVINGSTON,

Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. CRANE, Mr. ZELIFF, and Mr. BATEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

NOVEMBER 2, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. PETRI, Mr. COBLE, Mr. UPTON,

Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. HOKE, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr.

LINDER, Mr. HAYES, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr. MCMILLAN,

and Mr. SUNDQUIST

A BILL

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to allow labor

management cooperative efforts that improve economic

competitiveness in the United States to continue to

thrive, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teamwork for Employ3 ees and Management Act of 1993’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) the escalating demands of global competi7 tion have compelled an increasing number of employ8 ers in the United States to make dramatic changes

9 in workplace and employer-employee relationships;

10 (2) such changes involve an enhanced role for

11 the employee in workplace decisionmaking, often re12 ferred to as ‘‘Employee Involvement’’, which has

13 taken many forms, including self-managed work

14 teams, quality-of-worklife, quality circles, and joint

15 labor-management committees;

16 (3) Employee Involvement programs, which op17 erate successfully in both unionized and

18 nonunionized settings, have been established by over

19 80 percent of the largest employers in the United

20 States and exist in an estimated 30,000 workplaces;

21 (4) in addition to enhancing the productivity

22 and competitiveness of businesses in the United

23 States, Employee Involvement programs have had a

24 positive impact on the lives of such employees, better

25 enabling them to reach their potential in work force;
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1 (5) recognizing that foreign competitors have

2 successfully utilized Employee Involvement tech3 niques, the Congress has consistently joined busi4 ness, labor and academic leaders in encouraging and

5 recognizing successful Employee Involvement pro6 grams in the workplace through such incentives as

7 the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award;

8 (6) employers who have instituted legitimate

9 Employee Involvement programs have not done so to

10 interfere with the collective bargaining rights guar11 anteed by the labor laws, as was the case in the

12 1930’s when employers established deceptive sham

13 ‘‘company unions’’ to avoid unionization; and

14 (7) Employee Involvement is currently threat15 ened by legal interpretations of the prohibition

16 against employer-dominated ‘‘company unions’’.

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is—

18 (1) to protect legitimate Employee Involvement

19 programs against governmental interference;

20 (2) to preserve existing protections against de21 ceptive, coercive employer practices; and

22 (3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement

23 programs to continue to evolve and proliferate.
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1 SEC. 3. EMPLOYER EXCEPTION.

2 Section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act

3 is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the

4 following: ‘‘: Provided further, That it shall not constitute

5 or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this para6 graph for an employer to establish, assist, maintain, or

7 participate in any organization or entity of any kind, in

8 which employees participate, to discuss matters of mutual

9 interest, including issues of quality, productivity and effi10 ciency, and which does not have, claim, or seek authority

11 to negotiate or enter into collective bargaining agreements

12 with the employer or to amend existing collective bargain13 ing agreements between the employer and any labor

14 organization.’’.

15 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON EFFECT OF ACT.

16 Nothing in this Act shall affect employee rights and

17 responsibilities contained in provisions other than section

18 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.

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