Employee Free Choice Act

Over the past eight years, we have seen the middle class deteriorate as Big Business and their lobbyists were given free rein on George W. Bush's watch. Workers’ rights were thrown out the window, and companies did their best to intimidate or terminate any employees who even uttered the word "union.”  The Employee Free Choice Act is the legislation that can turn the system around.

Don't believe the lies of Big Business. Corporate America wants you to believe the Employee Free Choice Act will do away with the secret ballot. Not true. What the legislation does is to put that decision back in the hands of workers. The Employee Free Choice Act would level the playing field and ensure that workers' freedom to choose whether to join a union is protected by doing the following:

• Allowing workers to form a union if a majority of them signs cards.
   
• Providing for first contract mediation and arbitration so that workers get their first collective bargaining agreement in a timely manner, free from stalling and delay tactics by employers.
   
• Providing stiffer penalties for employers that violate workers' rights and retaliate against those who are trying to form unions.

Studies have shown that more than 60 million workers across the country would join a union if they could do so free from intimidation. Unions allow workers to collectively bargain for those things that every worker deserves – decent wages, affordable health care, and safety in the workplace. In fact, workers who belong to unions earn 30 percent more than non-union workers and are 63 percent more likely to have employer-provided health care.  It is time that American workers truly have a voice at work and that freedom of choice in the workplace is protected.

The Teamsters are working hard to pass this legislation.  Teamsters across the country have been writing letters, making phone calls, and participating in rallies, press conferences, and worksite visits to spread the word and let Congress, especially the Senate, know we need the Employee Free Choice Act.  We ask you to join in the fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act because every working American should have the right to become part of a union.  To send a letter to your Senators urging them to support this important legislation, click here.

    
FAA Reauthorization & Express Carrier Employee Protection Provision

As the health care debate dominates the agenda on Capitol Hill, there has been no movement yet on bringing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill was passed out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee but is currently pending in the Senate Finance Committee for consideration of tax-related provisions. The House and Senate both passed a three-month FAA extension at the end of September, which authorizes continued funding of federal aviation programs past the last extension’s expiration of September 30. This new extension will expire at the end of the year.

We continue to advocate with key Senators for the inclusion of the Express Carrier Employee Protection provision in the final FAA Reauthorization bill. The Express Carrier provision, which was included in the House-passed version of the FAA bill, would close a loophole that has allowed FedEx to have an unfair cost advantage in the package delivery industry and deprive its workers of the right to secure union representation.

In 1996, FedEx Express manipulated the system. The company got a special deal that misclassifies the majority of FedEx Express workers, which has resulted in limiting workers’ freedom of association and their right to form a union.  Most of the workers at FedEx Express have little or nothing to do with aircraft operations, but these workers have been unfairly classified under the Railway Labor Act.  The Railway Labor Act (RLA) is for rail and airline employees.  This group of misclassified workers includes truck drivers, truck mechanics, package handlers, couriers, and all other non-FAA-licensed employees at FedEx Express – all working classes that should be under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 

Because those employed under the RLA are only allowed to form a union on the national level, FedEx employees who should be able to organize on a worksite by worksite basis (as is possible under the NLRA) are unable to become a part of a union.  In addition, the special deal allotted to FedEx has created an unfair cost advantage in the package delivery industry.  The Teamsters are working to level the playing field in the package delivery industry and ensure working Americans across the country are afforded the right to form a union.  

The U.S. Senate needs to hear from you! Please ask your Senators for their support of the Express Carrier provision and that they make sure it is included in the final FAA Reauthorization bill.  To send an email to your Senators, click here.

Health Insurance Reform

On October 13, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 to pass its version of health insurance reform legislation, with Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine being the only Republican to vote in favor. Of great concern to the Teamsters is the Finance Committee’s proposal for a 40% excise tax on so-called “high cost” insurance plans (individual plans above $8,000 and family plans above $21,000). Any kind of tax will simply end up being passed along to the consumer. This tax on insurance companies really means a tax on the middle class, and that is a burden that America’s working families should not endure. We remain steadfast in our opposition to any taxation on health care benefits, whether it is a tax on the worker, employer, or insurance company.

In contrast to the Senate Finance Committee’s version of health insurance reform, the House bill (H.R. 3962) and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s version do not include a tax on benefits as a way to pay for reform. H.R. 3962 and the Senate HELP version do include a strong employer mandate, otherwise known as “pay or play”, which requires employers either to provide health care coverage for employees or make contributions on their behalf into an insurance pool. The Senate Finance version lacks such a mandate.

Health insurance reform will affect us all, so now is the time to make our voices heard. The time is now for quality, affordable coverage for all, but a tax on the middle class is not the answer. You can help by sending an e-mail to your Senators in support of health insurance reform that doesn’t include taxation on benefits and does include a strong employer mandate. To send an e-mail today, please click here, and for the latest updates in the health care debate, please visit Teamsters for Health Care Reform Now.

Pension Reform

On October 27, Representatives Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH) introduced the Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act (H.R. 3936), legislation which, if enacted, would save jobs and stabilize pension plans. The Pomeroy-Tiberi bill would allow defined benefit plans more time to recover from their financial losses in the 2008 stock market collapse. This would alleviate financial pressure to meet funding requirements under the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Many employers face the prospect of laying off employees in order to meet pension funding requirements. 

The Teamsters Union has actively been working with several coalitions organizations, including the National Coordinating Committee for Multi-Employer Plans, to advance pension relief legislation, particularly for multi-employer plans.