House Republicans Pass Boeing Pardon Bill
September 15, 2011
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The GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted 238-186 in favor of H.R. 2587, a bill targeting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for accusing the Boeing Company of illegally retaliating against IAM workers and their representatives.
The so-called “Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act” seeks to strip away worker protections by gutting enforcement provisions in the 70-year-old National Labor Relations Act. The bill now moves to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
The GOP-supported legislation was introduced in the House shortly after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint over Boeing’s 2009 decision to relocate a 787 assembly line from Washington state to North Charleston, SC. The case is currently being heard before an administrative law judge in Seattle.
By gutting the current law, the bill would grant immunity to corporations that closed, relocated or threatened to relocate jobs in retaliation for employees exercising their right to demand safe workplace, reasonable hours or fair benefits. The bill would retroactively apply to the current Boeing complaint while making it easier for companies to outsource American jobs to foreign countries.
