[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                              THE WAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 14, 2001

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Workers Access to 
Accountable Governance in Employment (WAGE) Act. This bill takes a 
first step toward restoring the rights of freedom of association and 
equal protection under the law to millions of American workers who are 
currently denied these rights by federal law.
  The WAGE Act simply gives workers the same rights to hold 
decertification elections as they have to hold certification elections. 
Currently, while workers in this country are given the right to 
organize and have union certification elections each year, provided 
that 30 percent or more of the workforce wish to have them, workers are 
not given an equal right to have a decertification election, even if 
the same requirements are met.
  As a result of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) created 
contract-bar rule, if 30 percent or more of a bargaining unit wants to 
hold an election to decertify a union as their representative, they are 
prohibited from doing so unless the contract is in at least its third 
year.
  In other words, it does not matter whether or not workers want to 
continue to have the union as their representative. It does not matter 
whether or not the union represents the will of the workers. It does 
not even matter if the majority of the current workforce voted for 
union representation. They must accept that representation.
  Mr. Speaker, this is absurd. The lowest criminal in this country has 
the right to change their representative in the courtroom. Yet millions 
of hardworking, law-abiding citizens cannot change their representation 
in the workplace.
  As a result of the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) 
in 1935 and the action taken by the federally-funded NLRB, workers can 
be forced to pay union dues or fees for unwanted representation as a 
condition of employment. Federal law may even force workers to accept 
union representation against the will of the majority of workers.
  Talk about taxation without representation! Mr. Speaker, the WAGE Act 
takes a step toward returning a freedom to workers that they never 
should have lost in the first place: the right to choose their own 
representative. I urge my colleagues to support the nonpartisan, pro-
worker WAGE Act.

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