Labor, House Dems Stand Against GOP Attack on NLRB

District 751 member Pat Bertucci, left, and Craig Eddings, right, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, far right, House members George Miller, Rosa DeLauro and Tammy Baldwin at a press conference to speak out against Republican attacks on collective bargaining rights.

Dozens of labor advocates gathered at the capitol today to speak out against the GOP’s proposed modifications to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The so-called “Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act” (HR 2587) prohibits the NLRB from stopping an employer from retaliating against its workforce’s right to strike or join a union by relocating, shutting down or transferring its business.

“The reason this highly-partisan Republican bill is being rushed to the floor this week is to change the rules in the middle of the trial with respect to a Fortune 500 company – Boeing,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), referring the NLRB’s recent charge against Boeing for retaliating against IAM members in Washington state by transferring the company’s 787 Dreamliner assembly to the right-to-work (for less) state of South Carolina. “But make no mistake about it, this bill is larger than that issue. It’s critical and it’s corruptive what they’re doing with respect to interfering in the trial. This has devastating repercussions for our families, those that aspire to jobs and those who are worried about their current jobs.”

“I work for Boeing and I want Boeing to succeed. But no company can succeed when it breaks the law,” said IAM District 751 member Pat Bertucci, joined by IAM District 751 member Craig Eddings. “I am a good employee. A good union member. When I go to work everyday I am held accountable to build the best, safest aircraft in the world. The Boeing Company needs to be held accountable for their actions, as well.”

“We will not stand idly by while workers’ rights are violated and the middle class is under attack,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), noting this most recent attack on workers’ rights is part of the same concerted GOP attack on collective bargaining rights in states like Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. “This bill would make it easier for corporations to send jobs overseas and allow employers to punish workers for simply exercising their rights to organize, demand better benefits, safer working conditions and to ensure a full day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Democrats are fighting back.”

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