[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 66 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                         DEFEAT PROPOSITION 226

  (Mrs. TAUSCHER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, on June 2, my fellow Californians will be 
voting on Proposition 226, a proposal to handicap the efforts of labor 
unions by limiting their ability to spend the dues they collect from 
their members.
  While Prop 226 is designed to sound attractive to working families, 
its real purpose is to put an undue burden on union members. Prop 226 
would force unions into the unworkable position of seeking written 
approval from their members each year before spending any of the money 
for political purposes.
  Currently, union members who choose to restrict the use of their 
union dues for political purposes may do so. Prop 226 instead places 
the onerous burden of unnecessary paperwork requirements on the vast 
majority of union members who want their unions to act on their behalf. 
This requirement would limit the free speech of union workers and 
impose burdensome red tape on the unions.
  This House recognized the folly of Prop 226 when it rejected similar 
legislation known as the Paycheck Protection Act most recently. I hope 
Californians will follow the House's lead by defeating Proposition 226.

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