[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H15490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LABOR GRINCH STEALS CHRISTMAS

  (Mr. FUNDERBURK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago I stood outside a Harris-
Teeter supermarket in Rocky Mount, NC, ringing the Christmas bell and 
collecting donations for the Salvation Army. Now, I come back to 
Washington, DC, to learn that many retail stores are no longer making 
room for kettle drives because of a recent ruling issued by the 
National Labor Relations Board. It seems that big labor unions--who are 
spending millions for TV ads against a balanced budget--feel 
discriminated against because the shopping centers that open their 
doors to the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations during 
the holiday season will not permit union picketing at their doorsteps. 
The NLRB, in its infinite wisdom, sided with the unions. Not 
surprisingly, many malls and shopping centers have told the Salvation 
Army that they would love to host kettle drives this year but they just 
cannot afford the enormous costs of being sued by labor unions.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an outrage. This is yet another example of an 
out-of-touch, bloated Federal Government that doesn't care about the 
poor and needy who could receive a hand-up from the Salvation Army 
instead of a hand-out from the welfare state. Today, I am cosponsoring 
H.R. 2497 to stop this abuse of power by the Department of Labor. Let 
us stop labor unions from threatening businesses who invite bell 
ringers from the Salvation Army.

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