I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1409 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system 
to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide 
for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing 
efforts, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2009 
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 
BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. 
WALZ, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 
LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 
DOGGETT, Mr. FILNER, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. GUTIERREZ, 
Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, Mr. HARE, 
Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 
TIERNEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. ABER-
CROMBIE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HOLT, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. 
NADLER of New York, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. RICH-
ARDSON, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. OLVER, Ms. 
ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. LEWIS of 
Georgia, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. AL 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 
PAYNE, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. FARR, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Ms. 
CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. ANDREWS, 
Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. WU, Mrs. DAVIS of California, 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. 
HALVORSON, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. MOORE of 
Kansas, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. WEINER, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. BISHOP of New 
York, Mr. KIND, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. MCMAHON, Mr. 
SCHRADER, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. LOEBSACK, 
Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. HALL of New York, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. RAHALL, 
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 
CLEAVER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. GRAYSON, 
Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. BEAN, Mr. NEAL of Massa-
chusetts, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, 
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Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON 
of Texas, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. ADLER of New Jersey, Mr. MEEK 
of Florida, Ms. KILROY, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. MASSA, Mr. FOSTER, 
Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ORTIZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. 
RUSH, Mr. HODES, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. 
MICHAUD, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. MELANCON, Mr. BECERRA, 
Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. PALLONE, 
Mr. BOCCIERI, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. DRIEHAUS, Mr. HONDA, Mr. CLAY, 
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. TONKO, Ms. WATERS, Mr. SCHAUER, Mr. VIS-
CLOSKY, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SPACE, Mr. 
LUJA´N, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. STARK, Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. BACA, Mr. PASTOR of Arizona, 
Mr. FATTAH, Mr. HOYER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. WATSON, Ms. 
LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 
SIRES, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. 
FUDGE, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. KOSMAS, Mr. DICKS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 
Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. TEAGUE, Mr. MURTHA, Ms. HAR-
MAN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. REYES, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 
OBEY, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. 
ARCURI, Mrs. DAHLKEMPER, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. 
CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. MORAN of 
Virginia, Mr. KAGEN, Ms. MARKEY of Colorado, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. 
PIERLUISI, Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali-
fornia, Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana, Mr. WATT, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SESTAK, 
Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. POLIS 
of Colorado, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. COSTA, and Ms. TITUS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish 
an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, 
or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory 
injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing 
efforts, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Employee Free Choice 
Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. STREAMLINING UNION CERTIFICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(c) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec-
tion, whenever a petition shall have been filed by an em-
ployee or group of employees or any individual or labor 
organization acting in their behalf alleging that a majority 
of employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining wish to be represented by an individual 
or labor organization for such purposes, the Board shall 
investigate the petition. If the Board finds that a majority 
of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has 
signed valid authorizations designating the individual or 
labor organization specified in the petition as their bar-
gaining representative and that no other individual or 
labor organization is currently certified or recognized as 
the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the 
unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify 
the individual or labor organization as the representative 
described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(7) The Board shall develop guidelines and proce-
dures for the designation by employees of a bargaining 
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representative in the manner described in paragraph (6). 
Such guidelines and procedures shall include— 
‘‘(A) model collective bargaining authorization 
language that may be used for purposes of making 
the designations described in paragraph (6); and 
‘‘(B) procedures to be used by the Board to es-
tablish the validity of signed authorizations desig-
nating bargaining representatives.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.—Sec-
tion 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 153(b)) is amended, in the second sentence— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and to’’ and inserting 
‘‘to’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘and certify the results 
thereof,’’ and inserting ‘‘, and to issue certifi-
cations as provided for in that section,’’. 
(2) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(b) 
of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
158(b)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking ‘‘, or’’ 
and inserting ‘‘or a petition has been filed 
under section 9(c)(6), or’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (7)(C) by striking ‘‘when 
such a petition has been filed’’ and inserting 
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‘‘when such a petition other than a petition 
under section 9(c)(6) has been filed’’. 
SEC. 3. FACILITATING INITIAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 
AGREEMENTS. 
Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 158) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) Whenever collective bargaining is for the pur-
pose of establishing an initial agreement following certifi-
cation or recognition, the provisions of subsection (d) shall 
be modified as follows: 
‘‘(1) Not later than 10 days after receiving a 
written request for collective bargaining from an in-
dividual or labor organization that has been newly 
organized or certified as a representative as defined 
in section 9(a), or within such further period as the 
parties agree upon, the parties shall meet and com-
mence to bargain collectively and shall make every 
reasonable effort to conclude and sign a collective 
bargaining agreement. 
‘‘(2) If after the expiration of the 90-day period 
beginning on the date on which bargaining is com-
menced, or such additional period as the parties may 
agree upon, the parties have failed to reach an 
agreement, either party may notify the Federal Me-
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diation and Conciliation Service of the existence of 
a dispute and request mediation. Whenever such a 
request is received, it shall be the duty of the Service 
promptly to put itself in communication with the 
parties and to use its best efforts, by mediation and 
conciliation, to bring them to agreement. 
‘‘(3) If after the expiration of the 30-day period 
beginning on the date on which the request for me-
diation is made under paragraph (2), or such addi-
tional period as the parties may agree upon, the 
Service is not able to bring the parties to agreement 
by conciliation, the Service shall refer the dispute to 
an arbitration board established in accordance with 
such regulations as may be prescribed by the Serv-
ice. The arbitration panel shall render a decision set-
tling the dispute and such decision shall be binding 
upon the parties for a period of 2 years, unless 
amended during such period by written consent of 
the parties.’’. 
SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) INJUNCTIONS AGAINST UNFAIR LABOR PRAC-
TICES DURING ORGANIZING DRIVES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10(l) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(l)) is amend-
ed— 
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(A) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘If, 
after such’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) If, after such’’; and 
(B) by striking the first sentence and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) Whenever it is charged— 
‘‘(A) that any employer— 
‘‘(i) discharged or otherwise discriminated 
against an employee in violation of subsection 
(a)(3) of section 8; 
‘‘(ii) threatened to discharge or to other-
wise discriminate against an employee in viola-
tion of subsection (a)(1) of section 8; or 
‘‘(iii) engaged in any other unfair labor 
practice within the meaning of subsection (a)(1) 
that significantly interferes with, restrains, or 
coerces employees in the exercise of the rights 
guaranteed in section 7; 
while employees of that employer were seeking rep-
resentation by a labor organization or during the pe-
riod after a labor organization was recognized as a 
representative defined in section 9(a) until the first 
collective bargaining contract is entered into between 
the employer and the representative; or 
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‘‘(B) that any person has engaged in an unfair 
labor practice within the meaning of subparagraph 
(A), (B), or (C) of section 8(b)(4), section 8(e), or 
section 8(b)(7); 
the preliminary investigation of such charge shall be made 
forthwith and given priority over all other cases except 
cases of like character in the office where it is filed or 
to which it is referred.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10(m) 
of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
160(m)) is amended by inserting ‘‘under cir-
cumstances not subject to section 10(l)’’ after ‘‘sec-
tion 8’’. 
(b) REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS.— 
(1) BACKPAY.—Section 10(c) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘And provided further,’’ and inserting 
‘‘Provided further, That if the Board finds that an 
employer has discriminated against an employee in 
violation of subsection (a)(3) of section 8 while em-
ployees of the employer were seeking representation 
by a labor organization, or during the period after 
a labor organization was recognized as a representa-
tive defined in subsection (a) of section 9 until the 
first collective bargaining contract was entered into 
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between the employer and the representative, the 
Board in such order shall award the employee back 
pay and, in addition, 2 times that amount as liq-
uidated damages: Provided further,’’. 
(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 12 of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Any’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 
Any’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly com-
mits any unfair labor practice within the meaning of sub-
sections (a)(1) or (a)(3) of section 8 while employees of 
the employer are seeking representation by a labor organi-
zation or during the period after a labor organization has 
been recognized as a representative defined in subsection 
(a) of section 9 until the first collective bargaining con-
tract is entered into between the employer and the rep-
resentative shall, in addition to any make-whole remedy 
ordered, be subject to a civil penalty of not to exceed 
$20,000 for each violation. In determining the amount of 
any penalty under this section, the Board shall consider 
the gravity of the unfair labor practice and the impact 
of the unfair labor practice on the charging party, on other 
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persons seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this Act, 
or on the public interest.’’. 
Æ 
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