I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 689
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide for fair and
expeditious representation elections.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 27, 1993
Mr. OWENS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and Labor
A BILL
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide for
fair and expeditious representation elections.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Labor Rela-
tions Fair Elections Act’’.
SEC. 2. REFERENCE TO NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT.
Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is ex-
pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a sec-
tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered
to be made to a section or other provision of the National
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
SEC. 3. REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(c) (29 U.S.C. 159(c))
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(6)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, the Board shall conduct an investigation whenever
a petition is filed by an employee or group of employees
(or any individual or labor organization acting in their be-
half) alleging that—
‘‘(i) 75 percent of the employees in a unit ap-
propriate for purposes of collective bargaining
(under a rule established by the Board pursuant to
section 6 or a decision in the applicable industry)
have, by signing authorization cards, designated an
individual or labor organization as their representa-
tive as defined in subsection (a), and
‘‘(ii) no individual or labor organization is
currently certified or recognized as the exclusive rep-
resentative of any of the employees in such unit.
‘‘(B) If the Board finds that the allegations specified
in the petition filed pursuant to subparagraph (A) are ac-
curate, the Board shall, within 15 days after the filing
of the petition, issue an order certifying such individual
or organization as the representative as defined in sub-
section (a).
‘‘(7)(A) Notwithstanding any other provisions of sec-
tion 9, whenever a petition shall have been filed, in accord-
ance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the
Board, by an employee or group of employees or any indi-
vidual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging
that their employer declines to recognize their representa-
tive as the representative defined in subsection (a) in a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
under a rule established by the Board pursuant to section
6 or a decision in the applicable industry, that a majority
of the employees in that unit have designated that individ-
ual or labor organization as their representative defined
in subsection (a), and that no individual or labor organiza-
tion is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive
representative of any of the employees in the bargaining
unit defined in the petition, the Board shall investigate
such petition. If the Board finds that the unit there speci-
fied is a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining under a rule established by the Board pursuant
to section 6 or a decision in the applicable industry, and
if the Board has reasonable cause to believe that a ques-
tion of representation affecting commerce exists and that
the other conditions specified in this subsection have been
met, the Board shall within seven days after the filing of
the petition direct an election by secret ballot not more
than 15 days after a petition is filed under this subpara-
graph and shall so notify the representative named in the
petition and the employer.
‘‘(B) In any proceeding under this subsection in
which the Board directs an election by secret ballot, and
which is not governed by subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph, the Board shall direct the election on a date not
more than 45 days after the filing of the petition and shall
inform the representatives named in the petition, the em-
ployer, and all other interested parties of the election date
not less than 15 days prior to the election except that,
where the Board determines that the proceeding presents
issues of exceptional novelty or complexity, the Board may
direct the election on a date not more than 75 days after
the filing of said petition.
‘‘(C) After an election conducted pursuant to sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph is completed, the
Board shall promptly serve the parties with a tally of the
ballots.
‘‘(D)(i) Any party to the election conducted pursuant
to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph may,
within five days after such election, object to the election
on the ground that conduct contrary to a rule relating to
election declared by the Board pursuant to its authority
under section 6 or conduct contrary to a rule of decision
declared by the Board in a proceeding under section 10
did affect the result of the election.
‘‘(ii) With regard to challenged ballots, the Board
shall, where such ballots are sufficient in number to affect
the outcome of the election, investigate the challenges and
serve a report upon the parties on challenges.
‘‘(iii) The Board shall move expeditiously to resolve
any issues raised by the objections or regarding eligibility
and to certify the results of the election: Provided, That
an objection that an election was conducted under sub-
paragraph (A) instead of subparagraph (B) shall not be
a basis for setting the election aside.’’.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF BOARD.
Section 6 (29 U.S.C. 156) is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘SEC. 6. (a) The Board is authorized to make,
amend, and rescind (in the manner prescribed by sub-
chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code)
such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this Act.
‘‘(b)(1) The Board shall, within 12 months after the
date of enactment of the National Labor Relations Fair