I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1855 
To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or 
refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 25, 2019 
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Ms. FOXX of North Carolina, 
Mr. ALLEN, Mr. COMER, Mr. WALKER, Mr. BANKS, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. 
WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. BUDD, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. MCCLIN-
TOCK, Mr. BYRNE, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide protections for workers with respect to their 
right to select or refrain from selecting representation 
by a labor organization. 
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 ‘‘Employee Rights Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA-
TIONS ACT. 
(a) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(b)(1) of 
the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)) 
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is amended by inserting ‘‘interfere with’’ before ‘‘re-
strain’’. 
(b) REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.—Section 9 
of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘designated or selected for 
the purposes of collective bargaining’’ and in-
serting ‘‘for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining selected by secret ballot in an election 
conducted by the Board,’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period the fol-
lowing: ‘‘: Provided further, That, for purposes 
of determining the majority of the employees in 
a secret ballot election in a unit, the term ‘ma-
jority’ shall mean the majority of all the em-
ployees in the unit, and not the majority of em-
ployees voting in the election’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) Whenever any certified or voluntarily recognized 
bargaining unit existing on or after the date of enactment 
of the Employee Rights Act experiences turnover, expan-
sion, or alteration by merger of unit represented employ-
ees exceeding 50 percent of the bargaining unit on such 
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date and (A) the unit represented employees are covered 
by a negotiated and agreed-upon collective agreement in 
effect between a labor organization representative and an 
employer, the Board shall conduct a secret paper ballot 
election among the represented employees in the bar-
gaining unit between the 120th day and 110th day prior 
to the collective agreement’s expiration or prior to the con-
clusion of three years, whichever occurs earlier, or (B) 
there is no negotiated collective agreement then in effect 
between a labor organization and an employer, the Board 
shall conduct a secret paper ballot election among the rep-
resented employees in the bargaining unit within 30 days. 
Thereafter, a secret ballot election shall again be con-
ducted under the same conditions and procedures when-
ever the recognized bargaining unit experiences turnover, 
expansion, or alteration by merger of unit represented em-
ployees exceeding 50 percent of the bargaining unit then 
in existence at the time of the preceding secret paper bal-
lot election. The election shall be conducted without regard 
to the pendency of any unfair labor practice charge 
against the employer or the labor organization representa-
tive and the Board shall rule on any objections to the elec-
tion pursuant to its established timeframes for resolving 
such matters. If a majority of the votes cast in a valid 
election reject the continuing representation by the labor 
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organization, the Board shall withdraw the labor organiza-
tion’s certification, the labor organization shall cease rep-
resentation of employees in the bargaining unit, and any 
obligations to or on behalf of the labor organization in a 
collectively bargained contract then in effect shall termi-
nate.’’. 
(c) FAIR REPRESENTATION IN ELECTIONS.—Section 
9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘prior to an 
election’’ after ‘‘in each case’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in the flush matter following para-
graph (1)(B)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘of 14 days in ad-
vance’’ after ‘‘appropriate hearing upon 
due notice’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, and a review of 
post-hearing appeals,’’ after ‘‘the record of 
such hearing’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The employer shall provide the 
Board a list consisting only of employee 
names and home addresses of all eligible 
voters within 7 days following the Board’s 
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determination of the appropriate unit or 
following any agreement between the em-
ployer and the labor organization regard-
ing the eligible voters. Any employee may 
elect to be excluded from such list by noti-
fying the employer in writing.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing 
of any petition unless and until— 
‘‘(i) a hearing is conducted before a qualified 
hearing officer in accordance with due process on 
any and all material, factual issues regarding juris-
diction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit in-
clusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and 
‘‘(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Di-
rector, subject to appeal and review, or by the 
Board. 
‘‘(B) No election results shall be final and no labor 
organization shall be certified as the bargaining represent-
ative of the employees in an appropriate unit unless and 
until the Board has ruled on— 
‘‘(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before 
the election; and 
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‘‘(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accord-
ance with due process and resolves each issue per-
taining to the conduct or results of the election.’’. 
(d) PENALTIES.—Section 10 of the National Labor 
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting 
after the second sentence following the second proviso, the 
following: ‘‘Any labor organization found to have inter-
fered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise 
of their rights under section 7 to form or join a labor orga-
nization or to refrain therefrom, including the filing of a 
decertification petition, shall be liable for wages lost and 
union dues or fees collected unlawfully, if any, and an ad-
ditional amount as liquidated damages. Any labor organi-
zation found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced 
an employee in connection with the filing of a decertifica-
tion petition shall be prohibited from filing objections to 
an election held pursuant to such petition.’’. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RE-
PORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 3(k) of the Labor-Man-
agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 
402(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘ballot, voting machine, 
or otherwise, but’’ and inserting ‘‘paper ballot, voting ma-
chine, or electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting 
booth and’’. 
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(b) RIGHTS OF MEMBERS.—Section 101(a)(1) of the 
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 
(29 U.S.C. 411(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following ‘‘Every employee in a bargaining unit rep-
resented by a labor organization, regardless of member-
ship status in the labor organization, shall have the same 
right as members to vote by secret ballot regarding wheth-
er to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to 
engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against 
their employer.’’. 
(c) RIGHT
NOT
TO
SUBSIDIZE
UNION
NON-
REPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Title I of the Labor- 
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 
U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 
106. 
RIGHT 
NOT 
TO 
SUBSIDIZE 
UNION 
NON-
REPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘No employee’s union dues, fees, or assessments or 
other contributions shall be used or contributed to any 
person, organization, or entity for any purpose not directly 
related to the labor organization’s collective bargaining or 
contract administration functions on behalf of the rep-
resented unit employee unless the employee member, or 
nonmember required to make such payments as a condi-
tion of employment, authorizes such expenditure in writ-
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ing, after a notice period of not less than 35 days. An 
initial authorization provided by an employee under the 
preceding sentence shall expire not later than 1 year after 
the date on which such authorization is signed by the em-
ployee. There shall be no automatic renewal of an author-
ization under this section.’’. 
(d) LIMITATIONS.—Section 101(a) of the Labor- 
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 
U.S.C. 411(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—No strike shall commence with-
out the consent of a majority of all represented unit em-
ployees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote con-
ducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agree-
ment between the employer and the labor organization in-
volved. In any case in which the employer involved has 
made an offer for a collective bargaining agreement, the 
represented unit employees involved shall be provided the 
opportunity for a secret ballot vote on such offer prior to 
any vote relating to the commencement of a strike. The 
cost of any such election shall be borne by the labor orga-
nization.’’. 
(e) REPORTING BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 
201(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclo-
sure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended— 
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(1) by inserting ‘‘and the independently verified 
annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi-
nancial condition and operations’’ after ‘‘required to 
be contained in such report’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit nonmem-
bers’’ after ‘‘members’’; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit non-
member’’ after ‘‘any member’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘any books, 
records,’’; and 
(5) by inserting ‘‘, and independently verified 
annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi-
nancial condition and operations’’ before ‘‘necessary 
to verify such report.’’. 
(f) ACTS OF VIOLENCE.—Section 610 of the Labor- 
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 
U.S.C. 530) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) It 
shall’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, through the 
use of force or violence, or threat of the use of force or 
violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to 
restrain, coerce, or intimidate any person for the purpose 
of obtaining from any person any right to represent em-
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ployees or any compensation or other term or condition 
of employment. Any person who willfully violates this sub-
section shall be fined not more than $100,000 or impris-
oned for not more than 10 years, or both. 
‘‘(c) The lawfulness of a labor organization’s objec-
tives shall not remove or exempt from the definition of 
extortion conduct by the labor organization or its agents 
that otherwise constitutes extortion as defined by section 
1951(b)(2) of title 18, United States Code, from the defi-
nition of extortion.’’. 
Æ 
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