Backgrounder
Bill name: Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act
Bill sponsor: H.R. 3463, sponsored by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA)
S. 1970, sponsored by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI)
Summary: The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act would overturn public sector state collective bargaining laws in almost every state in the country. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) would be authorized to intervene on behalf of public sector workers if a state failed to recognize the minimum collective bargaining requirements as set forth in this bill.
The Act would overturn state collective bargaining laws which do NOT include the following stipulations:
Under the Act, public safety employees would be prohibited from going on strike or taking any organized job actions that could disrupt emergency services.
Bill Status: Congressional Democrats first introduced the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act in 2018 in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus V. AFSCME decision that extended right-to-work protections to all public sector workers across the country. Previously, Congressional Democrats had introduced a narrower version of the bill targeted only at public safety employees, the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.” The public safety worker bill has been repeatedly offered since the late 1990s and was approved by the House in 2007. The current version of the bill is The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act H.R. 1154
Click here to read the bill language.
Also related, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
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Op-ed: House Proposal Would Trample On States To Help Unions
September 4, 2019, Daily Caller
F. Vincent Vernuccio and Morgan Shields, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/04/vernuccio-shields-house-unions
Op-ed: Democrats’ plan for a nationwide giveaway to public-sector unions
September 1, 2019, New York Post
Ken Giradin, Empire Center for Public Policy
https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/democrats-plan-for-a-nationwide-giveaway-to-public-sector-unions/
Human Right or Federal Overreach? House Members Spar Over Legislation to Protect Public Workers
June 26, 2019
Carolyn Phenicie, The74million.org
https://www.the74million.org/article/human-right-or-federal-overreach-house-members-spar-over-legislation-to-protect-public-workers/
Democrats introduce bill to strip workers of rights won under Supreme Court union ruling
June 28, 2018
Sean Higgins, Washington Examiner
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/democrats-bill-strip-workers-rights-won-supreme-court-janus-ruling
Onder testifies against federal bills strengthening collective bargaining for public unions before Congress
June 26, 2019
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, The Missouri Times
https://themissouritimes.com/62721/onder-testifies-against-federal-bills-strengthening-collective-bargaining-for-public-unions-before-congress/
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