[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 50 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E699-E700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NLRB THRESHOLD LEGISLATION; THE MOST IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE 
                      IN I.E.C.'S 40-YEAR HISTORY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 1998

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, last week, a delegation of 
the Independent Electrical Contractors visited my congressional office 
in Washington. They presented several issues they are tracking in 
Congress. IEC is a national trade association representing more than 
3,100 independent electrical contracting companies in 74 chapters 
across the nation. IEC members are engaged in the installation and 
maintenance of electrical wiring and devices for homes, schools, 
stores, highways, industrial plants and other projects.
  The delegation of IEC members I met with were all from Colorado and 
represent the best electrical workers the industry has to offer.
  Mr. Speaker, the Colorado IEC delegation presented me with an 
executive summary of the association's position and concern regarding 
the National Labor Relations Board Threshold Legislation, which I 
hereby submit for the Record.

 NLRB Threshold Legislation: The Most Important Legislative Initiative 
                      in I.E.C.'s 40 Year History


                           Executive Summary

       In 1959, the National Labor Relations Act set the 
     jurisdiction of the NLRB over small businesses by the amount 
     of interstate commerce in one year. Interstate commerce is 
     defined as ``trade between states''. When a business receives 
     revenue from out of state or purchases materials which 
     originate from out of state, that business affects this 
     trade. For example, the small electrical contractor affects 
     this trade by the materials purchased from a local supply 
     house. Almost all of the materials purchased can be shown to 
     have originated from out of state.
       During Mr. Borman's research, he discovered that the 
     monetary value used to reflect a businesses affect on 
     interstate commerce and used to establish NLRB jurisdiction 
     has not changed in over 38 years! The value set in 1959 
     ($50,000) is still the same in 1998. One of the causes of the 
     threshold remaining at its original level is the creation of 
     a ``bracket creep''. This ``bracket creep'' has allowed the 
     NLRB to take new cases involving smaller and smaller 
     businesses each year. In turn, the NLRB uses the ``bracket 
     creep'' to justify to Congress the need for additional 
     funding. In 1959, the NLRB had jurisdiction over small 
     businesses with 15 or more employees. Now it has jurisdiction 
     over businesses with only one employee. Almost 40% of the 
     NLRB caseload involves businesses with 15 employees or less. 
     The idea behind the legislation is to simply raise the 
     threshold to $300,000. This would have an immediate impact on 
     the current jurisdiction of the NLRB and reduce

[[Page E700]]

     their caseload significantly, thus ending the current 
     ``bracket creep'' on small businesses, and effectively ending 
     the NLRB's justification for additional manpower and funding 
     each fiscal year.
       Mr. Borman and IEC National have worked with Rep. Istook 
     (R-OK) and Rep. Hostettler (R-IN) on this issue. Rep. 
     Hostettler introduced A. 64 during the appropriations debate 
     and it was defeated by the House in a close vote (235-176). 
     This past January, the IEC Legislative Committee voted 
     unanimously to put 100% of IEC's government relations 
     resources behind this proposal. IEC is currently working to 
     pursue a Chief Sponsor for the proposal and have it 
     introduced as a single piece of legislation during the 2nd 
     Session of the 105th Congress.
       If you have any questions regarding IEC's proposal, please 
     call Anthony Bedell, Director of Government & Public 
     Relations at the IEC National Headquarters in Alexandria, 
     Virginia.
       Mr. Speaker, I fully commend this issue for Members' 
     consideration and express my deepest appreciation to IEC for 
     their vigilance and dedication to free markets and 
     professional service.

     

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