[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1355 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1355

   To amend the National Labor Relations Act to require employers to 
provide labor organizations with equal access to employees prior to an 
    election regarding representation, to prevent delays in initial 
     collective bargaining, and to strengthen enforcement against 
                intimidation of employees by employers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2009

  Mr. Sestak introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the National Labor Relations Act to require employers to 
provide labor organizations with equal access to employees prior to an 
    election regarding representation, to prevent delays in initial 
     collective bargaining, and to strengthen enforcement against 
                intimidation of employees by employers.

    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 ``National Labor Relations 
Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTING EXCESSIVE DELAYS IN 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 following:
    ``(h) Whenever collective bargaining is for the purpose of 
establishing an initial agreement following certification or 
recognition, the provisions of subsection (d) shall be modified as 
follows with respect to any employer having 20 or more employees:
            ``(1) Not later than 10 days after receiving a written 
        request for collective bargaining from an individual 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 commence to bargain collectively and shall make every 
        reasonable effort to conclude and sign a collective bargaining 
        agreement.
            ``(2) If after the expiration of the 120-day period 
        beginning on the date on which bargaining is commenced, or such 
        other period as the parties may agree upon, the parties have 
        failed to reach an agreement, either party may notify the 
        Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service of the existence of 
        a dispute and request the appointment of an arbitration panel. 
        Whenever such a request is received, the Service shall promptly 
        appoint an arbitration panel which will use its best efforts, 
        by mediation and conciliation, to bring the parties to 
        agreement.
            ``(3) If after the expiration of the 120-day period 
        beginning on the date on which the request for mediation is 
        made under paragraph (2), or such other period as the parties 
        may agree upon, the arbitration panel appointed under paragraph 
        (2) is not able to bring the parties to agreement by mediation 
        and conciliation, the such panel shall then begin to arbitrate 
        the dispute in accordance with such regulations as may be 
        prescribed by the Service. Such panel shall render a decision 
        settling the dispute not later than 30 days after commencing 
        arbitration and such decision shall be binding upon the parties 
        for a period of 18 months, unless amended during such period by 
        written consent of the parties.''.

SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AGAINST INTIMIDATION OF WORKERS.

    (a) Injunctions Against Unfair Labor Practices During Organizing 
Drives.--
            (1) In general.--Section 10(l) of the National Labor 
        Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(l)) is amended--
                    (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 inserting 
                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 otherwise 
                discriminate against an employee in violation 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 representation by 
        a labor organization or during the period 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
            ``(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 circumstances not subject to section 10(l)'' after 
        ``section 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 employees of 
        the employer were seeking representation by a labor 
        organization, or during the period after a labor organization 
        was recognized as a representative defined in subsection (a) of 
        section 9 until the first collective bargaining contract was 
        entered into 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 liquidated damages: Provided 
        further,''.
            (2) Civil penalties.--Section 12 of the National 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 commits any unfair 
labor practice within the meaning of subsections (a)(1) or (a)(3) of 
section 8 while employees of the employer are seeking representation by 
a labor organization 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 contract is entered 
into between the employer and the representative 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 persons seeking to exercise rights 
guaranteed by this Act, or on the public interest.''.

SEC. 4. EQUAL ACCESS TO LABOR ORGANIZATIONS PRIOR TO ELECTIONS.

    (a) Equal Access.--Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act 
(29 U.S.C. 159) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(f)(1) Not later than 30 days after the Board shall have directed 
an election, the employer shall notify the representative designated by 
the employees under subsection (a) of any activities the employer 
intends to engage in to campaign in opposition to recognition of the 
representative, including any meetings with individual employees or 
groups of employees, any announcements to employees, any signs to be 
displayed at the place of employment, and any literature to be 
distributed to employees, and shall provide the representative with 
equal access to the place of employment to campaign in favor of 
recognition of the representative, including the opportunity to hold an 
equal number of meetings with individual employees or groups of 
employees, and an opportunity to make announcements, display signs, and 
distribute literature, under the same terms and conditions that the 
employer engages in such activities.
    ``(2) As used in this subsection, the term `campaign' means any 
activity undertaken to persuade employees to vote for or against 
representation in an election directed by the Board, but shall not 
include any interference with, restraint or coercion of, or 
discrimination against employees in violation of paragraphs (1) through 
(3) of section 8(a).''.
    (b) Unfair Labor Practice.--Section 8(a) of the National Labor 
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) to fail to provide the notification and equal access 
        to a representative as required by section 9(f).''.
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