[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3632 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3632

    To ensure that labor dues and fees are used only for collective 
           bargaining purposes and exclusive representation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2002

 Mr. Tancredo introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To ensure that labor dues and fees are used only for collective 
           bargaining purposes and exclusive representation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Worker's Freedom of Choice Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Because of the statutory requirements that certain 
        workers must pay dues or fees to certain labor organizations 
        subject to the National Labor Relations Act, workers who pay 
        dues or fees to labor organizations should not, as a matter of 
        law, be required to support activities of labor organizations 
        that do not relate directly to the express purposes of the 
        National Labor Relations Act, to-wit, those purposes expressed 
        in the policies found in section 1 of such Act, (29 U.S.C. 
        151). In enacting the National Labor Relations Act, Congress 
        expressly recognized that a purpose of the Act was to protect 
        the freedom of association or actual liberty of contract of 
        employees. To strengthen the ability of labor organizations to 
        represent all employees with regard to the express purposes of 
        the National Labor Relations Act, it is statutorily provided 
        that labor organizations regulated by such Act may require 
        employees to pay dues or fees to a labor organization as a 
        condition of their employment.
            (2) Some labor organizations use the general treasury funds 
        that consist of, or include, statutorily required dues and fees 
        paid by employees for purposes other than the express purposes 
        of the National Labor Relations Act. Some labor organizations 
        use such treasury funds to support political candidates, tax-
        exempt organizations, issue advocacy and lobbying in support of 
        legislation or causes which individual workers may not 
        otherwise support and are not directly related to the express 
        statutory purposes for which those funds are collected from 
        workers by legislative mandate. Such uses of funds violate the 
        rights and freedoms of association of employees for which the 
        collective bargaining rights are statutorily protected under 
        the National Labor Relations Act.
            (3) It is a fundamental tenet of this Nation that all men 
        and women have a right to make individual choices about the 
        political, social or charitable causes they support. It is also 
        a fundamental right that an individual may not be forced or 
        coerced by organizations, as a condition of employment, to 
        support causes of any type, especially those that may be 
        contrary to, or even inconsistent with, their individual 
        beliefs. Such forced or coerced support violates basic notions 
        of First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of 
        association.

SEC. 3. FREEDOM TO CHOOSE.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Core purposes.--Notwithstanding the exception in 
        section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 157), 
        an employer or labor organization subject to a valid labor 
        agreement shall not receive, solicit, or accept from an 
        employee payment of any dues or fees not related to core 
        purposes and exclusive representation.
            (2) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
        ``core purposes'' includes collective bargaining, contract 
        administration, and grievance adjustment.
    (b) Discrepancy in Amount of Fees Collected.--
            (1) Liability.--If an employee disputes the amount of fees 
        collected by the labor organization, 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 the dues or fees 
                        accepted in violation of this section;
                            (ii) the interest on the amount described 
                        in clause (i) calculated at the prevailing 
                        rate;
                            (iii) an additional amount as liquidated 
                        damages equal to the sum of the amount 
                        described in clause (i) and the interest 
                        described in clause (ii); and
                            (iv) not more than $1,000 in punitive 
                        damages;
                    (B) for such equitable relief as may be 
                appropriate; and
                    (C) revocation of tax exempt status.
            (2) Right of action.--An action to recover the damages or 
        equitable relief prescribed in paragraph (1) may be maintained 
        against any labor organization in any Federal court of 
        competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and in 
        behalf of--
                    (A) the employees; or
                    (B) the employees and other employees similarly 
                situated.
            (3) Fees and costs.--The court in such action shall, in 
        addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a 
        reasonable attorney's fee, reasonable expert 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 than 5 years after the date the employee 
knew or should have known that dues or fees were accepted or spent by a 
labor organization in violation of this Act, except that such period 
shall be extended to 3 years in the case of a willful violation by a 
labor organization.

SEC. 4. NOTICE.

    An employer whose employees are represented by a collective 
bargaining representative shall be required to post a notice, of such 
size and in such form as the Department of Labor shall prescribe, in 
conspicuous places in and about its plants and offices, including all 
places where notices to employees are customarily posted, informing 
employees that any labor organization accepting payment of any dues or 
fees from an employee as a condition of employment pursuant to an 
agreement authorized by Federal law is not permitted to withhold any 
portion of such dues or fees used for activities not necessary to 
performing the duties of the exclusive representative of the employees 
in dealing with the employer on labor-management issues.

SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE TO WORKERS.

    (a) Expenses Reporting.--Section 201(b) of the Labor-Management 
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new sentence: ``Every labor organization shall be 
required to attribute and report expenses verified by an independent 
audit using generally accepted accounting principles and standards in 
such detail as necessary to allow members to determine whether such 
expenses were necessary to performing the duties of the exclusive 
representative of the employees in dealing with the employer on labor-
management issues.''
    (b) Disclosure.--Section 201(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting 
and Disclosure Act of 1959 is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``and employees required to pay any dues 
        or fees to such organization'' after ``members''; and
            (2) inserting ``or employee required to pay any dues or 
        fees to such organization'' after ``member'' each place it 
        appears.
    (c) Written Requests.--Section 205(b) of the Labor-Management 
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new sentence: ``Upon written request, the Secretary shall 
make available complete copies of any report or other document filed 
pursuant to section 201.''.

SEC. 6. RETALIATION AND COERCION PROHIBITED.

    It shall be unlawful for any labor organization to coerce, 
intimidate, threaten, interfere with, or retaliate against any employee 
in the exercise of, or on account of having exercised, any right 
granted or protected by this Act.

SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary of Labor shall prescribe such regulations as are 
necessary to carry out sections 3 and 4 of this Act not later than 60 
days after the date of enactment of this Act and shall prescribe such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out the amendments made by 
section 5 not later than 120 days after such date of enactment.

SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit or discourage an 
employee from making voluntary personal contributions to charities, 
affiliates, events, or organizations endorsed or otherwise supported by 
a labor organization.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.

    This Act shall be effective immediately upon enactment, except that 
sections 4 and 5 pertaining to worker consent and notice shall take 
effect 90 days after enactment and section 6 pertaining to disclosure 
shall take effect 150 days after enactment.
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