I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2346 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to ensure the right of employees 
to a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 13, 2013 
Mr. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. KLINE, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. WILSON 
of South Carolina, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. THOMP-
SON of Pennsylvania, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. 
BUCSHON, Mr. GOWDY, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. HUDSON, 
Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. 
FINCHER, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, and Mr. LONG) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to ensure the 
right of employees to a secret ballot election conducted 
by the National Labor Relations Board. 
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 ‘‘Secret Ballot Protec-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) the importance of a secret ballot election 
has been recognized by the United States for over 
100 years; 
(2) the fundamental democratic right to choose 
by secret ballot is the only method that ensures a 
choice free of coercion, intimidation, irregularity, or 
illegality; 
(3) the recognition of a labor organization by 
way of a private agreement, rather than a secret bal-
lot election supervised by a neutral third party, 
threatens an employee’s right, codified in the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, to choose whether or not 
to be represented by a labor organization; and 
(4) preserving workers’ right to choose whether 
or not to be represented by a labor organization 
through a secret ballot election is important to the 
strength of the national economy. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT. 
(a) RECOGNITION OF REPRESENTATIVE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(2) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(2)) is 
amended by inserting before the colon the following: 
‘‘or to recognize or bargain collectively with a labor 
organization that has not been selected by a major-
ity of employees in a unit appropriate for such pur-
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poses in a secret ballot election conducted by the 
Board in accordance with section 9’’. 
(2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar-
gaining relationships that were recognized before the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) ELECTION REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(b) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)), as amend-
ed by subsection (c) of this section, is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (6); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) to cause or attempt to cause an employer 
to recognize or bargain collectively with a represent-
ative of a labor organization that has not been se-
lected by a majority of employees in a unit appro-
priate for such purposes in a secret ballot election 
conducted by the Board in accordance with section 
9.’’. 
(2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar-
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gaining relationships that were recognized before the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) SECRET BALLOT ELECTION REQUIRED.— 
(1) DESIGNATION OF REPRESENTATIVE BY SE-
CRET BALLOT.—Section 9(a) of the National Labor 
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a)), is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 
(B) by inserting after ‘‘designated or se-
lected’’ the following: ‘‘by a secret ballot elec-
tion conducted by the Board in accordance with 
this section’’. 
(2) DECERTIFICATION.—Such section is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) The Board shall conduct a secret ballot 
election to determine whether a labor organization 
certified or recognized by an employer as the rep-
resentative for the purposes of collective bargaining 
is no longer the representative of a unit as defined 
in paragraph (1).’’. 
(3) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar-
gaining relationships that were recognized before the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 9(c)(1) of 
such Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)(1)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and that 
their employer declines to recognize their rep-
resentative as the representative defined in sec-
tion 9(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘by a representative’’; 
and 
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘section 
9(a);’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a),’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘alleging’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘defined in section 
9(a)’’. 
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Labor Relations Board shall re-
view and revise all regulations promulgated before such 
date to implement the amendments made in this Act to 
the National Labor Relations Act. 
Æ 
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