[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 12 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E70]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                          HON. MARK DeSAULNIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 19, 2018

  Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was unable to vote on 
the afternoon of Thursday, January 10, 2018 as my mother passed away.
  I oppose S. 140, which contained the language of the Tribal Labor 
Sovereignty Act. I strongly respect the sovereign rights of Native 
American Tribes. This bill, however, is nothing more than another 
attempt to undermine collective bargaining. In the process, it would 
strip hundreds of thousands of workers--the majority of whom are not 
tribe members--of their right to a voice in the workplace.
  As the UAW points out, at a time of growing wealth inequality and a 
shrinking middle class, the last thing Congress should do is deprive 
workers of their legally enforceable right to form unions and bargain 
collectively when there is indisputable evidence that unions help 
increase worker wages.
  I would have voted against this bill, which seeks to deprive workers 
of their right to advocate for themselves and ask for the wages they 
deserve.

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