I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4636
To amend certain labor laws to ensure fairness.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 1, 2002
Mr. NORWOOD (for himself, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON
of Texas, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. CULBERSON, and Mr.
TANCREDO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend certain labor laws to ensure fairness.
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 ‘‘Workers’ Bill of
Rights’’.
SEC. 2. 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 such em-
ployees in a secret ballot election conducted in ac-
cordance with section 9’’.
(2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall not apply to collective bar-
gaining relationships that were recognized before the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) LIMITATION
ON DUES COLLECTION AGREE-
MENT.—Section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations
Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) by discrimination in regard to hire or ten-
ure of employment or any term or condition of em-
ployment to encourage membership in any labor or-
ganization: Provided, That nothing in this Act, or in
any other statute of the United States, shall pre-
clude an employer from making an agreement with
a labor organization (not established, maintained, or
assisted by any action defined in this subsection as
an unfair labor practice) to require as a condition of
employment payment of dues or a fee equal to that
portion of dues actually spent on collective bar-
gaining representation of the employees in the collec-
tive bargaining unit covered by such agreement on
or after the 30th day following the beginning of such
employment or the effective date of such agreement,
whichever is the later (A) if such labor organization
is the representative of the employees as provided in
section 9(a) in the appropriate collective-bargaining
unit covered by such agreement when made, (B) if
such agreement provides that employees are allowed
to elect to pay a reduced fee instead of dues at any
reasonable time, but not less than once per month,
by notifying at any time their collective bargaining
representative of this election and that all employees
covered by such arrangement are clearly notified of
their rights by the labor organization under this
paragraph in a separate written notice delivered
personnally or by mail upon hiring and thereafter
not less than once each year, and (C) unless fol-
lowing an election held as provided in section 9(e)
within one year preceding the effective date of such
agreement, the Board shall have certified that a ma-
jority voting in such election have voted to rescind
the authority of such labor organization to make
such an agreement: Provided further, That no em-
ployer shall justify any discrimination against an
employee for nonmembership in a labor organization
(i) if he has reasonable grounds for believing that
membership was not available to the employee on
the same terms and conditions generally applicable
to other members, or (ii) if he has reasonable
grounds for believing that membership was denied
or terminated for reasons other than the failure of
the employee to tender the periodic dues and the ini-
tiation fees uniformly required as a condition of ac-
quiring or retaining membership.’’.
(c) MEMBERSHIP RIGHT TO VOTE ON CONTRACTS.—
Section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 158(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(6);
(2) by striking the period at the end of the
paragraph (7) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) to strike an employer unless the employees
of the collective bargaining unit engaged in the
strike have voted by secret ballot to reject the last
contract offer proposed by such employer; and’’.
(d) 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 by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) 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 such employees in a secret ballot election
conducted 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 the enactment of this Act.
(e) SECRET BALLOT ELECTION.—Section 9(a) of the
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a)), is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’;
(2) by inserting after ‘‘designated or selected’’
the following: ‘‘by a secret ballot election conducted
in accordance with this section’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar-
gaining relationships that were recognized before the date
of the enactment of the Workers’ Bill of Rights Act.’’.
(f) CONTRACT BAR.—Section 9(c)(1) of the National
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)(1)) is amended by
adding at the end the following sentence: ‘‘The Board shall
not refrain to direct an election under this section on the
grounds of the existence of a collective bargaining contract
that became effective 1 or more years before the filing of
a petition for such election.’’.
(g) DEAUTHORIZATION OF UNION SECURITY AGREE-
MENTS.—Section 9(e)(1) of the National Labor Relations
Act (29 U.S.C. 159(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the
end the following sentence: ‘‘Such authority shall be re-
scinded if a majority of the ballots cast vote to rescind
the authority.’’.
(h) ENFORCEMENT
OF
LIMITATION
ON
DUES
AGREEMENT.—Section 10 of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (m) as sub-
section (n); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (l) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(m) MONEY DAMAGES.—
‘‘(1) LIABILITY.—If an employee disputes the
amount of fees collected by the labor organization
under an agreement with the employer under section
8(a)(3), such employee may bring a civil action
against the labor organization—
‘‘(A) for total damages, for each employee,
equal to—
‘‘(i) 10 times the amount of fees
taken in violation of this section;
‘‘(ii) the interest on the amount de-
scribed in clause (i) calculated at the pre-
vailing rate; and
‘‘(iii) not more than $1,500 in puni-
tive damages; and
‘‘(B) for such equitable relief as may be
appropriate.
‘‘(2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover
the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para-
graph (1) may be maintained against any labor or-
ganization in any Federal court of competent juris-
diction by any one or more employees for and on be-
half of—
‘‘(A) the employees; or
‘‘(B) the employees and other employees
similarly situated.
‘‘(3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such ac-
tion shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to
the plaintiff, allow for reasonable attorney’s fee, ex-
pert witness fees, and other costs of the action to be
paid by the defendant.
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—An action may be brought
under this subsection not later that 2 years after the
date the employee knew or should have known that
dues or fees were accepted or spent by a labor orga-
nization in violation of this Act, except that such pe-
riod shall be extended to 3 years in the case of a
willful violation by a labor organization.’’.
SEC. 3. LABOR MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING ACT.
(a) RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Section 3(e)
of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 402(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Employer’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)
Except as provided in paragraph (2), employer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding the exclusion in paragraph (1),
an employer shall also include any employer or any group
or association of employers that receives Federal funds.’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE.—Section 3 of the Labor-Manage-
ment Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C.
402) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(s) ‘Core dues payer’ means any employee,
other than a member, who pays dues, fees or assess-
ments to a labor organization as a result of an
agreement between an employer and a labor organi-
zation.’’.
(c) VOTING.—Section 101(a) of the Labor-Manage-
ment Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C.
411(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘RIGHTS’’ in the heading
and inserting ‘‘RIGHTS FOR MEMBERS’’;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1)(A) (as des-
ignated by paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection) the
following new subparagraph:
‘‘(B) RIGHTS FOR CORE DUES PAYERS.—Every core
dues payer shall have the same right as any member of
the labor organization to participate in any vote that con-
cerns a strike by the bargaining unit in which such em-
ployee is employed or that concerns the wages, benefits,
or working conditions of the employees of such bargaining
unit.’’.
(d) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—Section 201(c)
of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS;
EXAMINATION OF BOOKS, RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS.—
Each labor organization required to submit a report under
this title, shall make available the information required to
be contained in such report to all of its members and core
dues payers, and every such labor organization and its of-
ficers shall be under a duty enforceable at the competent
jurisdiction or in the district court of the United States
for the district in which such labor organization maintains
its principal office, to permit such member or core dues
payer to examine any books, records, and accounts nec-
essary to verify such report, unless the labor organization
shows that such examination is initiated primarily for vex-
atious purposes.’’.
(e) PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUSTEE-
SHIP.—
(1) TRUSTEESHIP.—Section 302 of the Labor-
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
(29 U.S.C. 462) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Trustee-
ships’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a trust-
eeship may be authorized only after a fair hearing either
before the executive board or such other body as may be
provided by the constitution and bylaws of the labor orga-
nization and only if, in such hearing, the labor organiza-
tion establishes by the preponderance of evidence that the
trusteeship is necessary for a purpose allowable under this
section.
‘‘(2) If immediate action is necessary to fulfill the
purposes of this section, a temporary trusteeship may be
established, for not more than 30 days, pending a hearing
under paragraph (1).’’.
(2) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 304(c) of the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of
1959 (29 U.S.C. 464(c)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: ‘‘(c) Eighteen months after the authorization
of a trusteeship, such trusteeship shall be presumed
invalid in any proceeding pursuant to this section
and its discontinuance shall be decreed unless the
labor organization shall show by clear and con-
vincing proof that the continuation of the trustee-
ship is necessary for a purpose allowable under sec-
tion 302. In the latter event the court may dismiss
the complaint or retain jurisdiction of the cause on
such conditions and for such period as it deems ap-
propriate.’’
(3) DISSOLUTION
OF
TRUSTEESHIP.—Section
304 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Dis-
closure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 464) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) Upon dissolution of a trusteeship, the previously
elected officers of the local union shall be reinstated or
a new election promptly held in conformity with title IV.
If the trusteeship is dissolved by order of a court pursuant
to this title, and the court orders an election, such election
shall be conducted under the supervision of the court.’’.
(f) ELECTIONS.—
(1) MEMBERSHIP LISTS.—Section 401(c) of the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of
1959 (29 U.S.C. 481(c)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting
‘‘60 days’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘to inspect a list’’ and in-
serting ‘‘to inspect and, upon request, to be
provided with a copy of a list’’.
(2) DISTRICT
COUNCIL
OFFICERS.—Section
401(d) of the Labor-Management Reporting and
Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 481(d)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) Officers of intermediate bodies, such as general
committees, system boards, joint boards or joint councils
who engage in negotiation, administration or enforcement
of collective agreements, or exercise control over the fi-
nances or other major functions of local unions, shall be
elected not less often than once every 4 years by secret
ballot among members in good standing. Officers of other
intermediate bodies may be elected by representatives of