Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the senior Republican in the United States Senate and a member and former Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Employee Rights Act in the United States Senate.
In introducing this legislation, Senator Hatch was joined by HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senators James Risch (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Todd Young (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dean Heller (R-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Richard Shelby (R-AL), David Perdue (R-GA), and Ben Sasse (R-NE).
“Anyone whose real concern is preserving the rights of individual workers should support the Employee Rights Act, which addresses many issues plaguing Americans in the workplace,”Senator Hatch said. “This comprehensive workers’ rights bill does not include a single provision that empowers employers at the expense of unions. The only parties whose position will be improved by this legislation are employees. The Employee Rights Act is not a Democrat or Republican issue—it is simply a commonsense solution to champion workers’ rights and strengthen our economy.”
“I’m glad to join Senator Hatch on this legislation to enact commonsense changes to current labor law to restore and protect the rights of workers in Tennessee and throughout the country,” Senator Alexander said. “The Employee Rights Act guarantees employees the right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to join a labor union. The bill will also roll back harmful actions taken by the Obama administration that threaten the rights of workers, such as the ambush elections rule, which forces union elections before many employees know what is going on. The rule also harms workers’ privacy by providing union organizers with employees’ information like their cell phone number and work schedules, even if they’ve chosen to reject the union.”
Key provisions:
- Provides paycheck protection, requiring unions to get “opt in” approval before dues can be used for purposes other than collective bargaining, ensuring that workers are not compelled to fund causes they do not support.
- Eliminates “card check” methods and protects personal liberty by requiring secret ballots for votes on whether to unionize or to strike.
- Gives employees the right to opt out of having their personal information shared with a union during an organizing campaign.
- Negates the recent NLRB “ambush election” rule. By overruling this action, the Employee Rights Act fosters information sharing between workers and employers that is necessary for employees to weigh the pros and cons of unionization.
- Requires union recertification to ensure that unions still have the support from their members after significant turnover in the workforce.