Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: The National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 151 et seq. ) declares that it is the right of employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations. The National Labor Relations Act further declares that it is the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing . . . .
Despite Congress’ intention to give workers full agency in these matters, many employers regularly choose to involve themselves, lawfully or unlawfully, in the decisions of their employees about whether to avail themselves of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act ( 45 U.S.C. 151 et seq. ). Employers frequently violate labor laws around organizing and collective action. The Economic Policy Institute finds that in approximately 4 of 10 labor organization elections in 2016–2017 employers were charged with committing an unfair labor practice.
Among larger bargaining units of 61 employees or more, over 54 percent of elections have an unfair labor practice charge. In practice, these unfair labor practices often include charges such as employees being illegally fired for labor organization activity, refusal to bargain in good faith with labor organizations, or coercion and intimidation. Employers also frequently use captive audience meetings, workplace surveillance, and other lawful or unlawful tactics to sway labor organization elections.
Whether or not there are charges of unlawful behavior, employers spend millions of dollars to sway the opinions of their employees with respect to whether or how to exercise their rights under the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act. According to the Economic Policy Institute, companies spent $340,000,000 yearly on outside consultants to sway their workers' opinions about labor organization activities. This and other spending interfere with the United States goal of encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining .
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 has long recognized that spending by businesses with the purpose of influencing the general public with respect to elections, while it may be lawful, is not tax deductible. Congress should extend that principle to spending done by employers to influence workers’ elections and collective bargaining decisions. These free choices to exercise the rights to engage in collective bargaining, labor organization representation, and other lawful collective activities should be made without taxpayer subsidies of undue outside influence from employers.
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