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THE VOICE OF THE MERIT SHOP

老牛影视is the voice of the merit shop on Capitol Hill! Sending letters to Congress allows 老牛影视to publicly advocate for the views and interests of our more than 23,000 members. By corresponding with U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members, 老牛影视promotes fair and open competition in the construction industry and fights to protect merit shop contractors around the country.

Letters to the Hill

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THE VOICE OF THE MERIT SHOP

老牛影视is the voice of the merit shop on Capitol Hill! Sending letters to Congress allows 老牛影视to publicly advocate for the views and interests of our more than 23,000 members. By corresponding with U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members, 老牛影视promotes fair and open competition in the construction industry and fights to protect merit shop contractors around the country.

and the issued letters of support for听H.J.Res.203,听Rep. Burlison's听 to the NLRB's听, which was issued on August 1. If passed, the CRA would nullify the final rule, and the Board would be prohibited from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future.听

The NLRB's Final Rule eliminated common sense measures meant to protect workers' rights during the union representation election process, including:

  • Reinstated the Board's "blocking charge" policy, which allows unions to halt representation or decertification elections by alleging the employer has committed unfair labor practices until the charges are resolved;
  • Eliminated the 45-day window in which employees could challenge a union's majority support and demand a secret ballot election after their employer has voluntarily recognized the union based on signed authorization cards, or "card check;"
  • Rescinded the requirement that unions in the construction industry maintain proof of majority support if they want an exclusive collective bargaining relationships that is resistant to challenge

These policies force employees into unions they may not want and make it more difficult for employees to decertify unions that no longer have support from the workforce, undermining employee free choice.

In February 2023, 老牛影视submitted听听in opposition to the NLRB proposed rule. 老牛影视also signed on to CDW鈥檚 听along with 12 other employer organizations. CDW听听that the proposed rulemaking would 鈥渘egatively affect the Board鈥檚 representation case jurisprudence, undermine the agency鈥檚 statutory goals and reputation, diminish employee free choice and upset the balance of countervailing interests.鈥 Yet, consistent with NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran鈥檚 record, the NLRB disregarded stakeholder feedback and advanced a radical rulemaking that strips employees of their rights in the workplace.

On June 12, the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled 鈥.鈥 The hearing focused on the National Labor Relations Board鈥檚 bad decisions and degradation of rights and protections under Chair Lauren McFerran鈥檚 failed leadership. Specifically, members noted that the NLRB has restricted employee free choice through decisions that impact the right to free and fair representation elections, the definition of an independent contractor under the NLRA, a dangerous expansion of the definition of Joint Employer, and the ability to register a decertification election.

Ahead of the hearing, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to the committee regarding concerns over McFerran鈥檚 renomination to serve as chair of the Board.

On May 22, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing entitled: ".鈥 Prior to the hearing, 老牛影视submitted comments highlighting the harms of salting, card check and neutrality agreements.

The full committee hearing can be seen .

On March 25, 老牛影视sent a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in support of , the Start Applying Labor Transparency Act, introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah. The SALT Act would require labor organizations and their consultants to report when they engage in a coercive tactic known as 鈥渟alting鈥濃 a process where unions send professionally trained organizers into merit shop workplaces under the guise of seeking employment. Once hired, these 鈥渟alts鈥 often try to create a toxic work environment, mislead co-workers and destroy their employers or deliberately increase costs through various actions, all while concealing that their purpose in the workplace is to serve the interests of organized labor.

On June 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a markup of ABC-opposed legislation including the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, Paycheck Fairness Act, and Healthy Families Act. Ahead of the hearing, 老牛影视sent a letter to the committee highlighting concerns with the bills marked up in committee and urging members of the committee to oppose the partisan proposals being considered. 老牛影视also joined with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace to oppose the proposals.

The markup also considered several ABC-backed and Republican led amendments that would limit the damage of these anti-business, anti-worker legislative proposals, including amendments that would address the PRO Act鈥檚 provisions on employee privacy, independent contractors, secondary boycotts, and joint employer. Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also spoke about the ABC-supporting and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., sponsored Employee Rights Act, which would allow workers the freedom and protection they need to decide how they make a living for themselves and their families. You can view the full committee markup .

On May 23, 老牛影视submitted comments to the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions ahead of the subcommittee鈥檚 hearing entitled, 鈥.鈥 ABC鈥檚 letter highlighted the value of secret ballot elections to ensure that workers have a privacy protected vote that reflects their true preference for unionization in their workplace, criticized the NLRB for recent rulings, and expressed support for the Employee Rights Act that ensures the freedoms, rights, and choices of all America鈥檚 workers. You can view the full letter that was submitted for the record here.

On March 8, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing titled 鈥淒efending the Right of Workers to Organize Unions Free from Illegal Corporate Union-Busting,鈥 which will highlight the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act, sponsored by the HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 老牛影视sent a letter to the committee ahead of tomorrow鈥檚 hearing highlighting the most dangerous provisions of the bill and the negative effects they would have on the construction industry and the economy.

While the bill has been reintroduced, with Republicans in control of the U.S. House it will not come up for a vote as it has in previous years and will not meet the 60-vote threshold requirement for passage in the U.S. Senate.

View ABC鈥檚 Press Release on the bill here.

On April 19, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., reintroduced the ABC-supported Employee Rights Act. The Employee Rights Act stands in stark contrast to the ABC-opposed PRO Act and would strengthen the rights, flexibility and privacy protections of workers. In the face of the Biden administration鈥攖hrough the National Labor Relations Board and U.S. Department of Labor鈥攕eeking to implement provisions of the PRO Act through regulatory action, the ERA would prevent this executive overreach through ensuring the use of secret ballots in union elections; stimulating local businesses and entrepreneurship opportunities; defending worker choice and independent contractors; protecting workers from unwanted political exploitation; and safeguarding employee privacy.

老牛影视signed a letter of support for the bill, which also received support letters from the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and a diverse coalition of associations and organizations.

老牛影视also issued a press release highlighting our support for the ERA, and an action alert urging members of Congress to cosponsor the bill.

On March 24, 老牛影视joined a coalition of national, state and local trade associations in a letter to the President, urging the administration鈥檚 active engagement with the parties to help them reach a final contract, bring the negotiations to a close and end the uncertainty surrounding the operations of the West Coast ports. West Coast port labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have been ongoing since May 2022 with the lack of a solution resulting in a decrease in cargo volumes at West Coast ports, in part to avoid the potential fall-out should the ongoing talks fail.