I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1355
To amend the National Labor Relations Act, to establish the National Public
Employment Relations Commission, and to amend title I of the Employ-
ment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for joint trust-
eeship of single-employer pension plans.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 1995
Mr. SANDERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities
A BILL
To amend the National Labor Relations Act, to establish
the National Public Employment Relations Commission,
and to amend title I of the Employment Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for joint trustee-
ship of single-employer pension plans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Workplace Democracy Act of 1995’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Declaration of purpose and policy.
Sec. 3. Application of Act.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING RIGHTS OF EM-
PLOYEES AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF THE NATIONAL
LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Sec. 101. Right to first contract.
Sec. 102. Strikes, boycotts, and hot cargo agreements.
Sec. 103. Treatment of guards.
Sec. 104. Card recognition for collective bargaining units.
Sec. 105. Enforcement and authority of National Labor Relations Board.
Sec. 106. Repealing prohibition authority.
TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING RIGHTS OF EM-
PLOYEES AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY FOR THE NATIONAL
LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. National Public Employment Relations Commission.
Sec. 203. Rights of employees and employee organizations.
Sec. 204. Representatives and collective-bargaining units.
Sec. 205. Impasse in collective bargaining over the terms and conditions of em-
ployment and other matters of mutual concern relating thereto.
Sec. 206. Disputes over the interpretation or application of agreements.
Sec. 207. Strikes.
Sec. 208. Impasse procedures for firefighters and public safety officers.
Sec. 209. Strikes and firefighters and public safety officers.
Sec. 210. Unlawful acts.
Sec. 211. Prevention of unlawful acts.
Sec. 212. Applicability of this Act.
Sec. 213. Miscellaneous.
Sec. 214. Effective date.
TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING PENSION PLANS
Sec. 301. Requirements relating to trusteeship of single-employer plans.
Sec. 302. Effective date.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.
(a) STATUTORY PROTECTION.—Experience in both
private and public employment indicates that the statutory
protection of the right of employees to organize and bar-
gain collectively safeguards the public interest and pro-
motes economic stability and prosperity. Such protection
facilitates and encourages the amicable settlement of dis-
putes between employees and their employers involving the
terms and conditions of employment and other matters of
mutual concern.
(b) RESTORE INTENT.—It is the purpose of this Act
to amend the National Labor Relations Act, the law which
governs the rights of workers to organize and to bargain
collectively, to reestablish its original intent, to give work-
ers the power to protect their interests in the workplace,
restore democracy, and promote the free and unobstructed
flow of commerce.
(c) PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.—This Act prescribes cer-
tain rights and obligations of the employees of the States,
territories and possessions of the United States, and the
political subdivisions thereof, to establish procedures gov-
erning the relationship between such employees and their
employers which are designed to meet the special require-
ments and needs of public employment.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ACT.
The provisions of the National Labor Relations Act
shall apply to United States companies and their subsidi-
aries operating in any country that is a signatory to a
Free Trade Agreement. Workers of such companies and
subsidiaries shall have the right to file unfair labor prac-
tice complaints against the United States parent company
under this Act and under the laws of the signatory coun-
try.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
REGARDING RIGHTS OF EM-
PLOYEES AND ENFORCEMENT
AUTHORITY 
OF 
THE 
NA-
TIONAL 
LABOR 
RELATIONS
BOARD
SEC. 101. RIGHT TO FIRST CONTRACT.
Section 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 158) is amended by inserting the following after
the word ‘‘Provided,’’ the first time it appears:
‘‘If not later than 45 days after certification, a collec-
tive bargaining agreement has not been reached, the union
shall have the option of sending the contract dispute to
compulsory and binding arbitration.’’.
SEC. 102. STRIKES, BOYCOTTS, AND HOT CARGO AGREE-
MENTS.
Section 8(b)(4) and subsection (e) of the National
Labor Relations Act are repealed.
SEC. 103. TREATMENT OF GUARDS.
Section 9(b) of the National Labor Relations Act is
repealed.
SEC. 104. CARD RECOGNITION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAIN-
ING UNITS.
Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act is
amended by inserting at the end the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(f) The National Labor Relations Board shall pro-
mulgate rules which plainly define the characteristics of
employee units appropriate for collective bargaining
groups. Appropriate unit includes groups of employees (of
an employer) who have a community of interests that
should be included in the same collective bargaining unit.
‘‘(g) The National Labor Relations Board, upon re-
ceipt of a majority of signed union recognition cards of
employees in an appropriate bargaining unit (as deter-
mined by the workers themselves within the guidelines es-
tablished by the Board as specified in subsection (f)) shall
certify such labor organizations as the exclusive represent-
atives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes
of collective bargaining and mutual aid.’’.
SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT AND AUTHORITY OF NATIONAL
LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.
(a) Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act
is amended by—
(1) inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(e)’’;
(2) striking out the fifth sentence of paragraph
(1) (as redesignated by this section) and inserting in
lieu thereof the following:
‘‘If upon the preponderance of the testimony taken
the Board shall not be of the opinion that the person
named in the complaint has engaged in or is engaging in
any such unfair labor practice, or has willfully violated or
is willfully violating a final order as specified in subsection
(b) of this section, then the Board shall state its findings
of fact and shall issue an order dismissing the said com-
plaint.’’;
(3) by adding at the end thereof the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(2) If upon the preponderance of testimony taken
the Board shall be of the opinion that the allegation in
the complaint that a person has willfully violated or is will-
fully violating a final order as specified in subsection (b)
of this section has been sustained, then the Board shall
state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be
served on such person an order certifying the identifica-
tion of that person to the Secretary of Labor. Notwith-
standing any other law, unless the Secretary of Labor de-
termines that because of unusual circumstances the na-
tional interest requires otherwise, the Secretary shall cer-
tify the identity of such person to the Comptroller General.
The Comptroller General shall distribute a list to all agen-
cies of the United States containing the names of persons
certified by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to this sub-
section. Unless the agency of the United States concerned,
after notice and opportunity for hearing to all interested
parties, certifies to the Secretary of Labor that there is
no other source of material or services furnished by the
person affected by the Board order, no contracts shall be
awarded to such person for a reasonable, definitely stated
period of time commensurate with the seriousness of the
violation, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, but
such period shall not exceed three years. A debarment may
be removed or the period may be reduced by the Secretary
of Labor upon the submission of an application, supported
by documentary evidence, setting forth appropriate
grounds for the granting of relief, including without limi-
tation compliance with the final order found to have been
willfully violated, bona fide change of ownership or man-
agement, a fraud or misrepresentation of the charging
party: Provided, That this subparagraph shall restrict the
award of contracts solely to the products or service per-
formed at the particular facility or facilities where the will-
ful violation occurs or of the business entity legally respon-
sible for the willful violation or to the local, intermediate,
national or international labor organization legally respon-
sible for the willful violation.’’
(b) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The third sentence of
section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ immediately before ‘‘to
take such affirmative action’’; and
(2) by inserting after ‘‘with or without back
pay’’ the following: ‘‘and including making employ-
ees whole for the loss of economic benefits resulting
from a violation of section 8(a)(5) and to provide
such other remedial relief’’.
(c) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND DAMAGES.—Section 10
of the National Labor Relations Act is amended by adding
at the end the following subsection:
‘‘(n) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (j),
the National Labor Relations Board shall use the injunc-
tion power provided under such subsection whenever the
Board determines that an employer has engaged in a will-
ful violation of the unfair labor practice provisions under
section 8.
‘‘(o) The National Labor Relations Board will assess
civil money penalties of not less than $10,000 against em-
ployers for each willful violation of the Act.