II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2499

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to permit the establishment

of labor-management organizations to carry out certain activities with

respect to labor and management relations, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

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

the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to permit the

establishment of labor-management organizations to

carry out certain activities with respect to labor and

management relations, 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 ‘‘Worker-Management

5 Relations for the 21st Century Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
2

•S 2499 IS

1 (1) ever increasing foreign competition, rapidly

2 changing technology, and shifting consumer demand

3 are radically transforming the way American busi4 nesses compete in global markets;

5 (2) old style mass production and centralized

6 management are increasingly being replaced by indi7 vidual and flexible methods of doing business;

8 (3) the new business environment places more

9 demands on the talents, ingenuity, and dedication of

10 American workers;

11 (4) today, the best managed organizations give

12 real responsibility to production line employees, give

13 workers a real stake in the success of the organiza14 tion, make training and education a high priority,

15 and offer a safe and stable work environment;

16 (5) past joint employee-management efforts

17 have been rewarding for both employees and employ18 ers; and

19 (6) current labor relations laws make employee20 employer cooperation difficult.

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

22 It is the purpose of this Act to—

23 (1) preserve existing labor protections in cur24 rent labor relations laws;
3

•S 2499 IS

1 (2) provide an avenue for workers and manage2 ment to join together to create a more productive

3 work environment; and

4 (3) offer an alternative to employees and em5 ployers who wish to join together to discuss various

6 issues of concern and interest.

7 SEC. 4. LABOR-MANAGEMENT WORKPLACE COMMITTEES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(2) of the National

9 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(2)) is amended by

10 inserting before the semicolon at the end thereof the fol11 lowing: ‘‘Provided further, That it shall not constitute or

12 be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this para13 graph for an employer and the employees of such em14 ployer, or the labor organizations representing the employ15 ees of such employer, to jointly establish a committee, in

16 which such employer and such employees participate to

17 discuss matters of interest and concern (including but not

18 limited to issues of quality, productivity, improved labor19 management relations, job security, organizational effi20 ciency and enhanced economic development);’’.

21 (b) COMPOSITION.—Section 8(a) of the National

22 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)) is amended by

23 adding at the end the following new flush sentence:

24 ‘‘A committee described in paragraph (2) shall be com25 posed of an equal number of employees (who shall be se-
4

•S 2499 IS

1 lected by the employees through an election by popular

2 vote) and management officials. An employer or an em3 ployee of such employer may propose the establishment

4 of a committee described in paragraph (2), but such com5 mittee may only be established upon the agreement of both

6 the employer and a majority of employees. Such committee

7 shall be subject to an agenda and rules approved by the

8 committee upon establishment, and all decisions of the

9 committee shall become final only upon a vote of the ma10 jority of the members of the committee.’’.

Æ