[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S8426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN:
  S. 2687. A bill to provide coverage under the Railway Labor Act to 
employees of certain air and surface transportation entities; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill that will 
help ensure that employees of ``express carrier'' delivery companies 
are treated like employees who perform the same duties for other 
delivery, companies when it comes to Federal labor law jurisdiction.
  Over the years, there have been many advances made in the way 
citizens and businesses ship goods from city to city. Numerous air-
carrier and cargo services make the delivery of goods speedy, reliable 
and affordable. Truck, air and rail delivery networks are in place 
across the country. These operations employ large workforces that 
perform various types of work in a range of conditions.
  Some of the leading delivery companies appear to have similar 
organizational structure and clientele. But there is a disparity in the 
terms and conditions of their workers' employment. Some of the 
companies provide full- and part-time workers with good wages and 
benefits, including medical plans, dental coverage and paid vacation 
time. Others take a lower road, in part by using independent 
contractors and anti-union campaigns.
  Unfortunately, Federal law facilitates this difference. It ensures 
that all of the workers at one of the largest companies which delivers 
by air are covered by the Railway Labor Act (RLA), even when those 
workers do the same jobs as employees at other delivery companies who 
are covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). What is the 
difference? Under the NLRA, workers can act locally in seeking to 
organize and bargain collectively. Under the RLA, workers must organize 
nationally, an enormous challenge in today's labor environment.
  Congress created the concept of an ``express carrier'' in 1996, 
putting all the employees of one large company under RLA jurisdiction, 
regardless of individual employees' relation to air transportation. 
That means those workers cannot organize a union chapter locally, 
weakening their opportunity to bargain for better wages, benefits and 
workplace conditions.
  This bill provides that employees of an express carrier will be 
governed under the RLA only if they are licensed airmen, aircraft 
maintenance technicians or aircraft dispatchers. That is consistent 
with the treatment of other delivery companies' workers.
  The bill delivers fairness to responsible employers trying to do the 
right thing for workers while remaining competitive. It seeks to raise 
living standards, not encourage a race to the bottom. Workers can 
decide for themselves whether or not to collectively bargain, but in 
all businesses similarly situated, workers should be regulated the 
same.
  Let's deliver fairness to those who deliver for us.

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