II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1630 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor Management 

Relations Act, 1947 to deter labor slowdowns at ports of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2015 

Mr. RISCH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor 

Management Relations Act, 1947 to deter labor slowdowns at ports of the United States, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Labor 

5 Union Slowdowns Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘PLUS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DETERRING LABOR SLOWDOWNS. 

2 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA3 TIONS ACT.—The National Labor Relations Act is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in section 1 (29 U.S.C. 151), by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘International trade is one of the most impor8 tant components of the economy of the United 

9 States and will likely continue to grow in the future. 

10 In order to remain competitive in an increasingly 

11 competitive global economy, it is essential that the 

12 United States possess a highly efficient and reliable 

13 public and private transportation network. The ports 

14 of the United States are an increasingly important 

15 part of such transportation network. Experience has 

16 demonstrated that frequent and periodic disruptions 

17 to commerce in the maritime industry in the form of 

18 deliberate and unprotected labor slowdowns at the 

19 ports of the United States have led to substantial 

20 and frequent economic disruption and loss, inter21 fering with the free flow of domestic and inter22 national commerce and threatening the economic 

23 health of the United States, as well as its citizens 

24 and businesses. Such frequent and periodic disrup25 tions to commerce in the maritime industry hurt the 

26 reputation of the United States in the global econVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:03 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1630.IS S1630

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1 omy, cause the ports of the United States to lose 

2 business, and represent a serious and burgeoning 

3 threat to the financial health and economic stability 

4 of the United States. It is hereby declared to be the 

5 policy of the United States to eliminate the causes 

6 and mitigate the effects of such disruptions to com7 merce in the maritime industry and to provide effec8 tive and prompt remedies to individuals injured by 

9 such disruptions.’’; 

10 (2) in section 2 (29 U.S.C. 152), by adding at 

11 the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(15) The term ‘employee engaged in maritime 

13 employment’ has the meaning given the term ‘em14 ployee’ in section 2(3) of the Longshore and Harbor 

15 Workers’ Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 902(3)). 

16 ‘‘(16) The term ‘labor slowdown’— 

17 ‘‘(A) includes any intentional effort by em18 ployees to reduce productivity or efficiency in 

19 the performance of any duty of such employees; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not include any such effort re22 quired by the good faith belief of such employ23 ees that an abnormally dangerous condition ex24 ists at the place of employment of such employ25 ees.’’; 


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1 (3) in section 8(b) (29 U.S.C. 158(b)), by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(8) in representing, or seeking to represent, 

4 employees engaged in maritime employment, to en5 gage in a labor slowdown at any time, including 

6 when a collective-bargaining agreement is in effect.’’; 

7 (4) in section 9 (29 U.S.C. 159), by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF LABOR SLOWDOWNS.—If a labor or10 ganization has been found, pursuant to a final order of 

11 the Board, to have violated section 8(b)(8), the Board 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) revoke the exclusive recognition or certifi14 cation of the labor organization, which shall imme15 diately cease to be entitled to represent the employ16 ees in the bargaining unit of such labor organiza17 tion; or 

18 ‘‘(2) take other appropriate disciplinary ac19 tion.’’; and 

20 (5) in section 10(l) (29 U.S.C. 160(l)), in the 

21 first sentence, by striking ‘‘or section 8(b)(7)’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘or paragraph (7) or (8) of section 8(b)’’. 

23 (b) AMENDMENT TO THE LABOR MANAGEMENT RE24 LATIONS ACT, 1947.—Section 303 of the Labor Manage25 ment Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 187) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in section 

2 8(b)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (4) or (8) 

3 of section 8(b)’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, including 

5 reasonable attorney fees for a violation under section 

6 8(b)(8) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

7 U.S.C. 158(b)(8))’’ before the period; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) In an action for damages resulting from a viola10 tion of section 8(b)(8) of the National Labor Relations 

11 Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(8)), it shall not be a defense that 

12 the injured party has, in any manner, waived, or pur13 ported to waive, the right of such party to pursue mone14 tary damages relating to the labor slowdown at issue— 

15 ‘‘(1) in connection with a contractual grievance 

16 alleging a violation of a clause prohibiting a strike, 

17 or a similar clause, in a collective-bargaining agree18 ment; or 

19 ‘‘(2) in connection with an action for a breach 

20 of such a clause under section 301.’’. 

Æ 


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