II 

Calendar No. 262 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3094 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2011 

Received 

DECEMBER 15, 2011 

Read the first time 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect 

to representation hearings and the timing of elections 

of labor organizations under that Act. 

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 ‘‘Workforce Democracy 

5 and Fairness Act’’. 


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HR 3094 PCS 

1 SEC. 2. TIMING OF ELECTIONS. 

2 Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

3 U.S.C. 159) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The Board 

5 shall decide’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Provided, 

6 That the’’ and inserting: ‘‘In each case, prior to an 

7 election, the Board shall determine, in order to as8 sure to employees the fullest freedom in exercising 

9 the rights guaranteed by this Act, the unit appro10 priate for the purposes of collective bargaining. Un11 less otherwise stated in this Act, and excluding bar12 gaining unit determinations promulgated through 

13 rulemaking effective before August 26, 2011, the 

14 unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining 

15 shall consist of employees that share a sufficient 

16 community of interest. In determining whether em17 ployees share a sufficient community of interest, the 

18 Board shall consider (1) similarity of wages, bene19 fits, and working conditions; (2) similarity of skills 

20 and training; (3) centrality of management and com21 mon supervision; (4) extent of interchange and fre22 quency of contact between employees; (5) integration 

23 of the work flow and interrelationship of the produc24 tion process; (6) the consistency of the unit with the 

25 employer’s organizational structure; (7) similarity of 

26 job functions and work; and (8) the bargaining hisVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:50 Dec 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3094.PCS H3094

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HR 3094 PCS 

1 tory in the particular unit and the industry. To 

2 avoid the proliferation or fragmentation of bar3 gaining units, employees shall not be excluded from 

4 the unit unless the interests of the group sought are 

5 sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to 

6 warrant the establishment of a separate unit. 

7 Whether additional employees should be included in 

8 a proposed unit shall be based on whether such addi9 tional employees and proposed unit members share 

10 a sufficient community of interest, with the sole ex11 ception of proposed accretions to an existing unit, in 

12 which the inclusion of additional employees shall be 

13 based on whether such additional employees and ex14 isting unit members share an overwhelming commu15 nity of interest and the additional employees have 

16 little or no separate identity. The’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c)(1), in the matter following 

18 subparagraph (B)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘, but in no circumstances 

20 less than 14 calendar days after the filing of 

21 the petition’’ after ‘‘hearing upon due notice’’; 

22 (B) by inserting before the last sentence 

23 the following: ‘‘An appropriate hearing shall be 

24 one that is non-adversarial with the hearing of25 ficer charged, in collaboration with the parties, 


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HR 3094 PCS 

1 with the responsibility of identifying any rel2 evant and material pre-election issues and 

3 thereafter making a full record thereon. Rel4 evant and material pre-election issues shall in5 clude, in addition to unit appropriateness, the 

6 Board’s jurisdiction and any other issue the 

7 resolution of which may make an election un8 necessary or which may reasonably be expected 

9 to impact the election’s outcome. Parties may 

10 raise independently any relevant and material 

11 pre-election issue or assert any relevant and 

12 material position at any time prior to the close 

13 of the hearing.’’; 

14 (C) in the last sentence— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘or consideration of a 

16 request for review of a regional director’s 

17 decision and direction of election,’’ after 

18 ‘‘record of such hearing’’; and 

19 (ii) by inserting ‘‘to be conducted as 

20 soon as practicable but not less than 35 

21 calendar days following the filing of an 

22 election petition’’ after ‘‘election by secret 

23 ballot’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘Not earlier than 7 days after final determinaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:50 Dec 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3094.PCS H3094

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HR 3094 PCS 

1 tion by the Board of the appropriate bargaining 

2 unit, the Board shall acquire from the employer 

3 a list of all eligible voters to be made available 

4 to all parties, which shall include the employee 

5 names, and one additional form of personal em6 ployee contact information (such as telephone 

7 number, email address or mailing address) cho8 sen by the employee in writing.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 30, 

2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 262 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3094 

AN ACT 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act with 

Act. of elections of labor organizations under that respect to representation hearings and the timing 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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