H. R. 743

One Hundred Fourth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six

An Act

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.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teamwork for Employees and

Managers Act of 1995’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

(1) the escalating demands of global competition have compelled an increasing number of employers in the United States

to make dramatic changes in workplace and employer-employee

relationships;

(2) such changes involve an enhanced role for the employee

in workplace decisionmaking, often referred to as ‘‘Employee

Involvement’’, which has taken many forms, including selfmanaged work teams, quality-of-worklife, quality circles, and

joint labor-management committees;

(3) Employee Involvement programs, which operate

successfully in both unionized and nonunionized settings, have

been established by over 80 percent of the largest employers

in the United States and exist in an estimated 30,000 workplaces;

(4) in addition to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of businesses in the United States, Employee Involvement programs have had a positive impact on the lives of

such employees, better enabling them to reach their potential

in the workforce;

(5) recognizing that foreign competitors have successfully

utilized Employee Involvement techniques, the Congress has

consistently joined business, labor and academic leaders in

encouraging and recognizing successful Employee Involvement

programs in the workplace through such incentives as the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award;

(6) employers who have instituted legitimate Employee

Involvement programs have not done so to interfere with the

collective bargaining rights guaranteed by the labor laws, as

was the case in the 1930’s when employers established deceptive sham ‘‘company unions’’ to avoid unionization; and
H. R. 743—2

(7) Employee Involvement is currently threatened by legal

interpretations of the prohibition against employer-dominated

‘‘company unions’’.

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

(1) to protect legitimate Employee Involvement programs

against governmental interference;

(2) to preserve existing protections against deceptive, coercive employer practices; and

(3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement programs,

in which workers may discuss issues involving terms and conditions of employment, to continue to evolve and proliferate.

SEC. 3. EMPLOYER EXCEPTION.

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

by striking the semicolon and inserting the following: ‘‘: Provided

further, That it shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair

labor practice under this paragraph for an employer to establish,

assist, maintain, or participate in any organization or entity of

any kind, in which employees who participate to at least the same

extent practicable as representatives of management participate,

to address matters of mutual interest, including, but not limited

to, issues of quality, productivity, efficiency, and safety and health,

and which does not have, claim, or seek authority to be the exclusive

bargaining representative of the employees or to negotiate or enter

into collective bargaining agreements with the employer or to amend

existing collective bargaining agreements between the employer

and any labor organization, except that in a case in which a labor

organization is the representative of such employees as provided

in section 9(a), this proviso shall not apply;’’.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON EFFECT OF ACT.

Nothing in this Act shall affect employee rights and responsibilities contained in provisions other than section 8(a)(2) of the

National Labor Relations Act, as amended.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.