[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4320 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 491
113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4320

                          [Report No. 113-653]

To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of 
   elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-
                            election issues.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2014

 Mr. Kline (for himself, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. 
 Price of Georgia, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. 
Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Salmon, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. 
Rokita, Mr. Bucshon, Mr. Gowdy, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Mr. Hudson, Mr. 
Messer, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ribble, 
 and Mr. Schweikert) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
            to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

                            December 9, 2014

 Additional sponsors: Mr. Petri, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Griffin of Arkansas, 
Mr. Heck of Nevada, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Womack, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Stivers, 
   Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Coffman, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Harris, Mr. 
     Huelskamp, Mr. Tipton, Mr. Latham, Mr. Calvert, and Mr. Schock

                            December 9, 2014

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of 
   elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-
                            election issues.


 


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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Democracy and 
Fairness Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. PRE-ELECTION HEARINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 9(c)(1)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 159(c)(1)(B)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by inserting ``, but in no circumstances less 
        than 14 calendar days after the filing of the petition'' after 
        ``upon due notice'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after ``with respect thereto.'' 
        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 outcome of the 
        election. Parties may independently raise any relevant and 
        material pre-election issue or assert any relevant and material 
        position at any time prior to the close of the hearing.''; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by striking ``and shall certify the results 
        thereof'' and inserting ``to be conducted as soon as 
        practicable but no earlier than 35 calendar days after the 
        filing of an election petition. The Board shall certify the 
        results of the election after it has ruled on each pre-election 
        issue not resolved before the election and any additional issue 
        pertaining to the conduct or results of the 
        election''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Democracy and Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PRE-ELECTION HEARINGS.

    Section 9(c)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
159(c)(1)) is amended in the matter following subparagraph (B)--
            (1) by inserting ``, but in no circumstances less than 14 
        calendar days after the filing of the petition'' after ``upon 
        due notice'';
            (2) by inserting after ``with respect thereto.'' 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 outcome of the election. Parties may 
        independently raise any relevant and material pre-election 
        issue or assert any relevant and material position at any time 
        prior to the close of the hearing.''; and
            (3) by striking ``and shall certify the results thereof'' 
        and inserting ``to be conducted as soon as practicable but no 
        earlier than 35 calendar days after the filing of an election 
        petition. The Board shall certify the results of the election 
        after it has ruled on each pre-election issue not resolved 
        before the election and any additional issue pertaining to the 
        conduct or results of the election''.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE UNITS FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

    Section 9(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (3) as 
        subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively;
            (2) by striking ``The Board shall decide'' and all that 
        follows through ``or subdivision thereof:'' and inserting the 
        following: ``(1) 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 any 
        bargaining unit determination promulgated through rulemaking 
        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--
            ``(A) similarity of wages, benefits, and working 
        conditions;
            ``(B) similarity of skills and training;
            ``(C) centrality of management and common supervision;
            ``(D) extent of interchange and frequency of contact 
        between employees;
            ``(E) integration of the work flow and interrelationship of 
        the production process;
            ``(F) the consistency of the unit with the employer's 
        organizational structure;
            ``(G) similarity of job functions and work; and
            ``(H) 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 seeking a separate unit 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 determined 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.''; and
            (3) by striking ``Provided, That the Board'' and inserting 
        the following:
    ``(2) The Board''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 491

113th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 4320

                          [Report No. 113-653]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of 
   elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-
                            election issues.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            December 9, 2014

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed