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 com-
pelled 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 self-
managed 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 work-
places;
(4) in addition to enhancing the productivity and competi-
tiveness of businesses in the United States, Employee Involve-
ment 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 decep-
tive 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, coer-
cive employer practices; and
(3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement programs,
in which workers may discuss issues involving terms and condi-
tions 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 responsibil-
ities 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.