[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5927]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     USE OF GOATS AT MILLS COLLEGE

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Madam Speaker, the Teamsters Union recently accused 
Mills College in Oakland, CA, of violating its union contract by hiring 
500 goats to clear brush from college property rather than using 
unionized maintenance workers. According to press accounts, in filing a 
grievance against the school, the local Teamster boss suggested that 
the college should require the 500 goats to become union members.
  Madam Speaker, I do not want to make the Teamsters a scapegoat in 
this saga, but we know how John Sweeney, the ultimate union boss in 
Washington, plans to make good on his promise to increase union 
membership through renewed emphasis on organizing. By golly, if you 
cannot convince real live human beings to join your local neighborhood 
union, let us sign up some farm animals.
  Madam Speaker, I would caution, however, that this scheme might have 
its share of problems. For one, the Supreme Court's Beck decision says 
that workers have the right to object to the payment of union dues not 
used for collective bargaining purposes. No matter how this caper 
finally gets resolved, Madam Speaker, I wish to urge Mills College to 
stand their ground and not let the Teamsters get their goats.

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