1.This Act may be cited as the
Workforce Democracy and Fairness
Act
.
2.Section 9 of the
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended—
(1)in subsection (b),
by striking The Board shall decide
and all that follows through
Provided, That the
and inserting: In
each case, prior to an election, the Board shall determine, in order to assure
to employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this
Act, the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. Unless
otherwise stated in this Act, and excluding bargaining unit determinations
promulgated through rulemaking effective before August 26, 2011, the unit
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining shall consist of employees
that share a sufficient community of interest. In determining whether employees
share a sufficient community of interest, the Board shall consider (1)
similarity of wages, benefits, and working conditions; (2) similarity of skills
and training; (3) centrality of management and common supervision; (4) extent
of interchange and frequency of contact between employees; (5) integration of
the work flow and interrelationship of the production process; (6) the
consistency of the unit with the employer’s organizational structure; (7)
similarity of job functions and work; and (8) the bargaining history in the
particular unit and the industry. To avoid the proliferation or fragmentation
of bargaining units, employees shall not be excluded from the unit unless the
interests of the group sought are sufficiently distinct from those of other
employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit. Whether additional
employees should be included in a proposed unit shall be based on whether such
additional employees and proposed unit members share a sufficient community of
interest, with the sole exception of proposed accretions to an existing unit,
in which the inclusion of additional employees shall be based on whether such
additional employees and existing unit members share an overwhelming community
of interest and the additional employees have little or no separate identity.
The
; and
(2)in subsection
(c)(1), in the matter following subparagraph (B)—
(A)by inserting
, but in no circumstances less than 14 calendar days after the filing of
the petition
after hearing upon due notice
;
(B)by inserting
before the last sentence the following: An appropriate hearing shall be
one that is non-adversarial with the hearing officer charged, in collaboration
with the parties, with the responsibility of identifying any relevant and
material pre-election issues and thereafter making a full record thereon.
Relevant and material pre-election issues shall include, in addition to unit
appropriateness, the Board’s jurisdiction and any other issue the resolution of
which may make an election unnecessary or which may reasonably be expected to
impact the election’s outcome. Parties may raise independently any relevant and
material pre-election issue or assert any relevant and material position at any
time prior to the close of the hearing.
;
(C)in the last
sentence—
(i)by
inserting or consideration of a request for review of a regional
director’s decision and direction of election,
after record of
such hearing
; and
(ii)by
inserting to be conducted as soon as practicable but not less than 35
calendar days following the filing of an election petition
after
election by secret ballot
; and
(D)by adding at the
end the following: Not earlier than 7 days after final determination by
the Board of the appropriate bargaining unit, the Board shall acquire from the
employer a list of all eligible voters to be made available to all parties,
which shall include the employee names, and one additional form of personal
employee contact information (such as telephone number, email address or
mailing address) chosen by the employee in writing.
.
Passed the House of
Representatives November 30, 2011.
Karen L. Haas,
Clerk
December 16, 2011
Read the second time and placed on the
calendar