[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7498-S7499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE TEAMWORK FOR EMPLOYEES AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1996

                                 ______
                                 

                       DORGAN AMENDMENT NO. 4437

  Mr. DORGAN proposed an amendment to the bill (S. 295) to permit labor 
management cooperative efforts that improve America's economic 
competitiveness to continue to thrive, and for other purposes; as 
follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Teamwork for Employees and 
     Management Act of 1995'';

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the escalating demands of global competition have 
     compelled an increasing number of American employers to make 
     dramatic changes in work-place and employer-employee 
     relationships;
       (2) these changes involve an enhanced role for the employee 
     in workplace decisionmaking, often referred to as ``employee 
     involvement'', which has taken many forms, including self-
     managed work teams, quality-of-worklife, quality circles, and 
     joint labor-management committees;
       (3) employee involvement structures, which operate 
     successfully in both unionized and non-unionized settings, 
     have been established by over 80 percent of the largest 
     employers of the United States and exist in an estimated 
     30,000 workplaces;
       (4) in addition to enhancing the productivity and 
     competitiveness of American businesses, employee involvement 
     structures have had a positive impact on the lives of those 
     employees, better enabling them to reach their potential in 
     their working lives;
       (5) recognizing that foreign competitors have successfully 
     utilized employee involvement techniques, Congress has 
     consistently joined business, labor, and academic leaders in 
     encouraging and recognizing successful employee involvement 
     structures in the workplace through such incentives as the 
     Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award;
       (6) employers who have instituted legitimate employee 
     involvement structures have not done so to interfere with the 
     collective bargaining rights guaranteed by the labor laws, as 
     was the case in the 1930s when employers established 
     deceptive sham ``company unions'' to avoid unionization; and
       (7) the prohibition of the National Labor Relations Act 
     against employer domination or interference with the 
     formation or administration of a labor organization has 
     produced uncertainty and apprehension among employers 
     regarding the continued development of employee involvement 
     structures.
       (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
       (1) protect legitimate employee involvement structures 
     against governmental interference;
       (2) preserve existing protections against deceptive, 
     coercive employer practices; and
       (3) permit legitimate employee involvement structures where 
     workers may discuss issues involving terms and conditions of 
     employment, to continue to evolve and proliferate.

     SEC. 3. LABOR PRACTICES.

       Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
     158) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
     new subsection:
       ``(h)(1) The following provisions shall apply with respect 
     to any employees who are not represented by an exclusive 
     representative pursuant to section 9(a) or 8(f):
       ``(A) It shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair 
     labor practice under section 8(a)(2) for an employer to meet 
     with the employees as a group, or to meet with each of the 
     employees individually, to share information, to brainstorm, 
     or receive suggestions or opinions from individual employees, 
     with respect to matters of mutual interest, including matters 
     relating to working conditions.

[[Page S7499]]

       ``(B) It shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair 
     labor practice under section 8(a)(2) for an employer to 
     assign employees to work units and to hold regular meetings 
     of the employees assigned to a work unit to discuss matters 
     relating to the work responsibilities of the unit. The 
     meetings may, on occasion, include discussions with respect 
     to the conditions of work of the employees assigned to the 
     unit.
       ``(C) It shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair 
     labor practice under section 8(a)(2) for an employer to 
     establish a committee composed of employees of the employer 
     to make recommendations or determinations on ways of 
     improving the quality of, or method of producing and 
     distributing, the employer's product or service and to hold 
     regular meetings of the committee to discuss matters relating 
     to the committee. The meetings may, on occasion, include 
     discussions with respect to any directly related issues 
     concerning conditions of work of the employees.
       ``(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply if--
       ``(A) a labor organization is the representative of the 
     employees as provided in section 9(a);
       ``(B) the employer creates or alters the work unit or 
     committee during any organizational activity among the 
     employer's employees or discourages employees from exercising 
     the rights of the employees under section 7;
       ``(C) the employer interferes with, restrains, or coerces 
     any employee because of the employee's participation in or 
     refusal to participate in discussions with respect to 
     conditions of work, which otherwise would be permitted by 
     subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1); or
       ``(D) an employer establishes or maintains a group, unit, 
     or committee authorized by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
     paragraph (1) that discusses conditions of work of employees 
     who are represented under section 9 without first engaging in 
     the collective bargaining required by this Act.
       ``(3) An employee who participates in a group, unit, or 
     committee described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
     paragraph (1) shall not be considered to be a supervisor or 
     manager because of the participation of the employee in the 
     group, unit, or committee.''.
                                 ______
                                 

                      KASSEBAUM AMENDMENT NO. 4438

  Mrs. KASSEBAUM proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 295, supra; as 
follows:

       Strike all after first word and insert the following:

     1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Teamwork for Employees and 
     Managers Act of 1995''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the escalating demands of global competition have 
     compelled an increasing number of employers in the United 
     States to make dramatic changes in workplace and employer-
     employee relationships;
       (2) such changes involve an enhanced role for the employee 
     in workplace decisionmaking, often referred to as ``Employee 
     Involvement'', which has taken many forms, including self-
     managed work teams, quality-of-worklife, quality circles, and 
     joint labor-management committees;
       (3) Employee Involvement programs, which operate 
     successfully in both unionized and nonunionized settings, 
     have been established by over 80 percent of the largest 
     employers in the United States and exist in an estimated 
     30,000 workplaces;
       (4) in addition to enhancing the productivity and 
     competitiveness of businesses in the United States, Employee 
     Involvement programs have had a positive impact on the lives 
     of such employees, better enabling them to reach their 
     potential in the workforce;
       (5) recognizing that foreign competitors have successfully 
     utilized Employee Involvement techniques, the Congress has 
     consistently joined business, labor and academic leaders in 
     encouraging and recognizing successful Employee Involvement 
     programs in the workplace through such incentives as the 
     Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award;
       (6) employers who have instituted legitimate Employee 
     Involvement programs have not done so to interfere with the 
     collective bargaining rights guaranteed by the labor laws, as 
     was the case in the 1930's when employers established 
     deceptive sham ``company unions'' to avoid unionization; and
       (7) Employee Involvement is currently threatened by legal 
     interpretations of the prohibition against employer-dominated 
     ``company unions''.
       (b) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is--
       (1) to protect legitimate Employee Involvement programs 
     against governmental interference;
       (2) to preserve existing protections against deceptive, 
     coercive employer practices; and
       (3) to allow legitimate Employee Involvement programs, in 
     which workers may discuss issues involving terms and 
     conditions of employment, to continue to evolve and 
     proliferate.

     SEC. 3. EMPLOYER EXCEPTION.

       Section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act is 
     amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the 
     following: ``: Provided further, That it shall not constitute 
     or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this 
     paragraph for an employer to establish, assist, maintain, or 
     participate in any organization or entity of any kind, in 
     which employees who participate to at least the same extent 
     practicable as representatives of management participate, to 
     address matters of mutual interest, including, but not 
     limited to, issues of quality, productivity, efficiency, and 
     safety and health, and which does not have, claim, or seek 
     authority to be the exclusive bargaining representative of 
     the employees or to negotiate or enter into collective 
     bargaining agreements with the employer or to amend existing 
     collective bargaining agreements between the employer and any 
     labor organization, except that in a case in which a labor 
     organization is the representative of such employees as 
     provided in section 9(a), this proviso shall not apply;''.

     SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON EFFECT OF ACT.

       Nothing in this Act shall affect employee rights and 
     responsibilities contained in provisions other than section 
     8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.

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