I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 743

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

JANUARY 30, 1995

Mr. GUNDERSON (for himself, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. HOEKSTRA,

Mr. PETRI, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. TALENT, Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. BEREUTER,

Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. HOKE, Mr. LINDER, Mr. PORTER, Mr. PORTMAN,

Mr. STENHOLM, and Mr. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teamwork for Employ5 ees and Managers Act of 1995’’.
2

•HR 743 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) the escalating demands of global competi4 tion have compelled an increasing number of employ5 ers in the United States to make dramatic changes

6 in workplace and employer-employee relationships;

7 (2) such changes involve an enhanced role for

8 the employee in workplace decisionmaking, often re9 ferred to as ‘‘Employee Involvement’’, which has

10 taken many forms, including self-managed work

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

12 labor-management committees;

13 (3) Employee Involvement programs, which op14 erate successfully in both unionized and

15 nonunionized settings, have been established by over

16 80 percent of the largest employers in the United

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

18 (4) in addition to enhancing the productivity

19 and competitiveness of businesses in the United

20 States, Employee Involvement programs have had a

21 positive impact on the lives of such employees, better

22 enabling them to reach their potential in work force;

23 (5) recognizing that foreign competitors have

24 successfully utilized Employee Involvement tech25 niques, the Congress has consistently joined busi26 ness, labor and academic leaders in encouraging and
3

•HR 743 IH

1 recognizing successful Employee Involvement pro2 grams in the workplace through such incentives as

3 the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award;

4 (6) employers who have instituted legitimate

5 Employee Involvement programs have not done so to

6 interfere with the collective bargaining rights guar7 anteed by the labor laws, as was the case in the

8 1930’s when employers established deceptive sham

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

10 (7) Employee Involvement is currently threat11 ened by legal interpretations of the prohibition

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

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

14 (1) to protect legitimate Employee Involvement

15 programs against governmental interference;

16 (2) to preserve existing protections against de17 ceptive, coercive employer practices; and

18 (3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement

19 programs to continue to evolve and proliferate.

20 SEC. 3. EMPLOYER EXCEPTION.

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

22 is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the

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

24 or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this para25 graph for an employer to establish, assist, maintain, or
4

•HR 743 IH

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

2 which employees participate, to address matters of mutual

3 interest, including issues of quality, productivity and effi4 ciency, and which does not have, claim, or seek authority

5 to negotiate or enter into collective bargaining agreements

6 with the employer or to amend existing collective bargain7 ing agreements between the employer and any labor

8 organization.’’.

9 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON EFFECT OF ACT.

10 Nothing in this Act shall affect employee rights and

11 responsibilities contained in provisions other than section

12 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.

Æ