In the Senate of the United States,

July 10, 1996.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 743) entitled ‘‘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.’’, do

pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teamwork for Employ3 ees and Managers Act of 1995’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) the escalating demands of global competition

7 have compelled an increasing number of employers in

8 the United States to make dramatic changes in work9 place and employer-employee relationships;
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1 (2) such changes involve an enhanced role for the

2 employee in workplace decisionmaking, often referred

3 to as ‘‘Employee Involvement’’, which has taken

4 many forms, including self-managed work teams,

5 quality-of-worklife, quality circles, and joint labor6 management committees;

7 (3) Employee Involvement programs, which op8 erate successfully in both unionized and nonunionized

9 settings, have been established by over 80 percent of

10 the largest employers in the United States and exist

11 in an estimated 30,000 workplaces;

12 (4) in addition to enhancing the productivity

13 and competitiveness of businesses in the United

14 States, Employee Involvement programs have had a

15 positive impact on the lives of such employees, better

16 enabling them to reach their potential in the

17 workforce;

18 (5) recognizing that foreign competitors have

19 successfully utilized Employee Involvement techniques,

20 the Congress has consistently joined business, labor

21 and academic leaders in encouraging and recognizing

22 successful Employee Involvement programs in the

23 workplace through such incentives as the Malcolm

24 Baldrige National Quality Award;
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1 (6) employers who have instituted legitimate

2 Employee Involvement programs have not done so to

3 interfere with the collective bargaining rights guaran4 teed by the labor laws, as was the case in the 1930’s

5 when employers established deceptive sham ‘‘company

6 unions’’ to avoid unionization; and

7 (7) Employee Involvement is currently threat8 ened by legal interpretations of the prohibition

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

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

11 (1) to protect legitimate Employee Involvement

12 programs against governmental interference;

13 (2) to preserve existing protections against de14 ceptive, coercive employer practices; and

15 (3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement

16 programs, in which workers may discuss issues in17 volving terms and conditions of employment, to con18 tinue to evolve and proliferate.

19 SEC. 3. EMPLOYER EXCEPTION.

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

21 is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the fol22 lowing: ‘‘: Provided further, That it shall not constitute or

23 be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this para24 graph for an employer to establish, assist, maintain, or par25 ticipate in any organization or entity of any kind, in which
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1 employees who participate to at least the same extent prac2 ticable as representatives of management participate, to ad3 dress matters of mutual interest, including, but not limited

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

5 health, and which does not have, claim, or seek authority

6 to be the exclusive bargaining representative of the employ7 ees or to negotiate or enter into collective bargaining agree8 ments with the employer or to amend existing collective bar9 gaining agreements between the employer and any labor

10 organization, except that in a case in which a labor organi11 zation is the representative of such employees as provided

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

13 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON EFFECT OF ACT.

14 Nothing in this Act shall affect employee rights and

15 responsibilities contained in provisions other than section

16 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 743

AMENDMENT