Chair Cassidy, Colleagues Unveil Bills to Strengthen Workers’ Rights, Deliver President Trump’s Pro-Worker Agenda

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a legislative package to reform labor laws to strengthen worker freedoms and protect Americans' rights in the workplace. This comes after Cassidy held two hearings on labor reform last month.

"Congress has not updated labor laws for nearly 100 years, yet the economy and the way we work have changed. We have a responsibility to bring stability to businesses, unions, and workers to make our nation competitive in a 21st-century economy," said Dr. Cassidy. "As Chairman of the HELP Committee, I'm committed to finding a path forward and building consensus between businesses, unions, and workers. These bills are an important step as we work together to deliver President Trump's pro-worker agenda and empower the middle class to achieve the American Dream."

For over a year, Cassidy has led Senate Republicans in efforts to modernize federal labor law to improve the lives of all workers. In July, Cassidy introduced legislation empowering 27 million independent workers to access portable workplace benefits, like health insurance and retirement, for themselves and their families.

This legislative package consists of bills led by Cassidy and other Republican members of the HELP Committee, including U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Tim Scott (R-SC).

• Cassidy's Worker Reforming Elections for Speedy and Unimpeded Labor Talks (RESULTS) Act: Expands worker choice by ensuring the integrity of union elections, helping workers reach a first contract in a timely manner, and enhancing workers' opportunity to determine whether a union contract is working for them.

• Cassidy's NLRB Stability Act: Requires the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to decide worker claims based on the federal court precedent, creating stability in NLRB decisions. This ensures workers, businesses and unions can expect consistent outcomes when they file a claim with the NLRB.

• Cassidy's Fairness in Filing Act: Limits frivolous NLRB claims that deepen the NLRB's backlog and delay workers from asserting their rights in the workplace.

• Cassidy's Union Members Right to Know Act: Strengthens worker voice by letting workers determine how their hard-earned dollars are used. Workers should not be forced to fund political causes that violate their beliefs.

• Banks' Put American Workers First Act: Protects American workers by making it an unfair labor practice to unionize or hire illegal immigrants.

• Tuberville's Protection on the Picket Line Act: Defends Americans from harassment and abuse at work by clarifying that the National Labor Relations Act does not nullify federal antidiscrimination law.

• Scott's Worker Privacy Act: Protects workers' personal data in the unionizing process and prevents the use of this data for efforts not related to labor organizing.

Click here for an overview of Cassidy's bills.

"Americans for Prosperity thanks Senators Cassidy, Scott, and Tuberville, as well as the Senate HELP Committee, for advancing a package of reforms that will help us lead the global economy in the 21st century by empowering every worker. We do this by modernizing rigid, dated labor laws that fail to give workers the voice and transparency they deserve. These reforms will provide workers with greater choice and opportunities in the workplace to unleash prosperity and take advantage of our evolving and innovative labor market," said Austen Bannan, Employment Fellow, Americans for Prosperity.

"The Senate HELP labor package delivers long-overdue reforms that finally put American workers first. It restores choice and voice in the workplace through the Worker RESULTS Act and protects workers from being trapped into funding politics they oppose in the Union Members Right to Know Act. It closes a loophole to ensure the NLRB follows the law under the NLRB Stability Act and stops harassment tactics through frivolous complaints in the Fairness in Filings Act. It allows employers to protect workers from abuse and harassment in the workplace under the Protection on the Picket Line Act," said F. Vincent Vernuccio, President, Institute for the American Worker. "Together, these bills reflect a modern approach to labor relations - one that trusts workers, promotes transparency, and ensures the law is applied fairly. The committee, led by Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), deserves credit for advancing a balanced package that empowers American workers and strengthens freedom in the workplace."

"For decades, the National Labor Relations Board has made it increasingly difficult for workers to decertify and remove unwanted union bosses from their workplace. The NLRB invented 'bars' that go beyond written law to block worker-requested union decertifications. If workers' employer is under new management, they cannot decertify. If union lawyers file charges against an employer, even if they are unsubstantiated, workers cannot decertify. If the charges are settled, still there may be a period where workers cannot decertify," said Mark Mix, President, National Right to Work Committee. "The Worker RESULTS Act removes these non-statutory barriers to decertification, and prevents the creation of new ones. It mandates secret ballot union elections, preventing coercive 'card check' drives where workers must publicly declare their support or opposition to a union. The bill wisely requires that at least two-thirds of a workplace show up to those secret ballot votes, preventing situations where just a few employees vote for a union that the entire workplace is saddled with. These changes give workers more power to determine who represents them in the workplace as we work toward a day when no worker can be forced to pay union dues, or be 'represented' by union officials they do not support."

"The Competitive Enterprise Institute endorses the Union Members Right To Know Act, which codifies workers' rights under the 1988 Supreme Court decision in Communications Workers v. Beck. This legislation would ensure that workers are informed of the existing rights that many may not be aware that they already have. Unions have little incentive to inform their members of these rights under current law. It is fitting and proper therefore that Congress step in to ensure that workers are fully informed of all their rights at their workplaces," said Sean Higgins, Research Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Cassidy's bills are also endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

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