{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=f8cfc117-f984-4034-b035-8284c7fc9222", "Hatch, Alexander Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Worker Rights", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Orrin Hatch", "H000338", "www.hatch.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), current member and former Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), current Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, introduced legislation today to significantly reform labor laws for the first time in more than 50 years to improve worker rights. The Employee Rights Act gives workers the freedom to choose to unionize or not and be free from intimidation or retribution for their choice, mandates a secret ballot in elections on whether to form a union, requires unions to be periodically recertified via a secret-ballot vote, prevents \u201cquickie\u201d elections, prevents employees\u2019 dues and fees from being used for political activities without their consent, and takes other important steps to level the playing field for workers against powerful labor unions. The Employee Rights Act is cosponsored by 22 of Hatch and Alexander\u2019s Senate colleagues.\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t a Republican or a Democrat issue \u2013 this is a matter of fairness and basic worker rights,\u201d Hatch said. \u201cEmployees should have the right to join a union or not, and they should be able to decide without being fearful of that decision. They should be able to cast a ballot in secret, just like Americans do at ballot boxes across the country.\u00a0 If there is turnover in the workforce, there should be vote to determine if the union still has the support of current employees.\u00a0 Workers also deserve a say in how their union spends their dues and whether to go on strike. This common-sense bill takes critical steps in giving individual workers the rights they deserve.\u201d\r\n\u201cThe single biggest problem facing the American worker today is a persistently high unemployment rate, and yet union leaders insist on further weakening workers\u2019 opportunities,\u201d said Alexander. \u201cThis bill empowers employees by giving them a say in whether or not they want to join and pay dues to a union, ensuring the privacy of that decision and allowing employees to opt out of having all of their personal contact information and work schedule shared with union organizers.\u201d\r\nIn addition to Hatch and Alexander, the Employee Rights Act is supported by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Tom Coburn (R -Okla.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).\r\nCongressman Tom Price (R-Ga.) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.\r\nBelow is a summary of provisions in the Employee Rights Act as introduced by Hatch and Alexander:\r\n \r\nSecret Ballot Elections\r\n\r\nGuarantee employees the right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to join a union.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nUnion Recertification Elections\r\n\r\nRequire that all unionized workplaces with employee turnover exceeding 50 percent to hold secret ballot elections to determine whether a majority of employees still want to be represented by the union.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nPaycheck Protection\r\n\r\nPrevent unions from using employees\u2019 dues and fees for purposes unrelated to their bargaining functions \u2013 including political contributions and expenditures \u2013 without an the employees\u2019 written consent.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nSecret Ballot Strike Votes\r\n\r\nGive employees the right to a secret ballot vote before union leaders can order a strike.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nPrevent \u201cQuickie\u201d or \u201cSnap\u201d Elections\r\n\r\nNegate the recent regulatory effort at the NLRB to unfairly expedite union elections by preventing unions from obtaining employees\u2019 private information and ensuring due process in determining issues such as the appropriate bargaining unit and eligibility of individuals.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nPrevent Union Coercion \r\n\r\nAllow employees to collect lost wages, illegally collected union dues, and/or liquidated damages from a union that interferes with their rights under the NLRA, including the right to petition for decertification of the union.\r\nImpose a procedural penalty on unions that interfere with the filing of a decertification petition.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nCriminalize Union Threats\r\n\r\nStrengthen prohibitions on the use or threat of violence for achieving purposes related to unionization and collective bargaining.\r\nThis would resolve the loopholes created by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Enmons, which effectively exempted unions from federal anti-racketeering statutes.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nEliminates Needless Disparities\r\n\r\nConform and make equal the definition of an \u201cunfair labor practice\u201d on the part of a union with that of an employer.\n\r\nAllow every employee in a represented bargaining unit \u2013 regardless of union membership status \u2013 to have the same rights as union members to vote on the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement or to engage in strike or work stoppage.\r\nRequire unions to provide audited financial statements to agency fee payers.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=f8cfc117-f984-4034-b035-8284c7fc9222"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6118369530886412, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}