[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE CURRENT EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION ACT

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                          HON. FRANCIS ROONEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 9, 2017

  Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
the Current Employee Representation Act with Congressman Bradley Byrne 
of Alabama and Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina. The Current 
Employee Representation Act would provide union members more 
representation as their views may differ from decisions made decades 
ago especially in the rapidly modernizing workforce of today. This 
legislation also gives union employees more power to be heard and hold 
the higher-up decision makers within unions more accountable to the 
rank and file.
  The United States is seeing shifts every day towards a more modern 
workforce. Many current employees are locked into old and outdated 
union contracts, approved long before they were hired. All employees 
deserve a voice that is reflective of today's workplace. They should be 
given options and a voice in the structure of their workplace, and not 
be subject to the same union practices of the past. This legislation 
aims to allow new employees an option to elect new union 
representation. And if they deem the union unnecessary, it would give 
employees the right to decertify and represent themselves. Why should 
outdated union agreements set the rules for the 21st-century economy?
  I thank my colleagues who have already supported this legislation and 
look forward to working with them to see this and other modern 
workforce policies advance in this chamber.

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