Biden Admin. Shreds Distinction Between Labor Advocacy And Political Agitation
‘In a fit of wokeness, the Biden Administration’s regulators managed to throw out decades of careful distinctions designed to protect employees, employers, and customers alike. So progressive political messages may now be protected by federal labor law. But does the road go both ways? The next time someone gets fired for donating to a conservative cause, will these same progressives leap to his defense? I wouldn’t hold my breath.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the National Labor Relations Board:
“Last week, the Biden Administration’s left-wing majority on the National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling in a case with far reaching consequences for free speech.
“The decision had its roots in a quest by the Board’s activist General Counsel to appease the core Democratic alliance of Big Labor and progressive activists. This comes after President Biden fired her predecessor just moments after his inauguration.
“The facts of the case are simple: an employer terminated an employee for violating a content-neutral company dress code that prohibited employees from displaying causes or political messages unrelated to workplace matters. The employee refused to comply, and was fired.
“Breaking decades of precedent, the NLRB now says that the employer was wrong to do so and must rehire the employee and provide back pay.
“For decades, American labor law maintained important, and fairly straightforward speech protections: at work, employees have a right to speak about work.
“That is, employees have the right to ‘concerted’ activities in the workplace when they relate to wages, hours, and working conditions. They can also work together to form or join a union.
“But these protections included a clear distinction between labor advocacy and political agitation.
“People have the right to say what they want on their own time, but our labor law only protects political activity or slogans that are a ‘logical outgrowth’ of speech related to wages, hours, and working conditions.
“Well, this particular NLRB apparently sees no daylight between activism for left-wing political causes and advocacy connected to working conditions!
“In a fit of wokeness, the Biden Administration’s regulators managed to throw out decades of careful distinctions designed to protect employees, employers, and customers alike.
“So progressive political messages may now be protected by federal labor law. But does the road go both ways? The next time someone gets fired for donating to a conservative cause, will these same progressives leap to his defense? I wouldn’t hold my breath.
“The decision will have even more consequences for employers. Employers will have to associate themselves with the politics of their employees or else face rebuke from federal labor regulators.
“This is government-mandated speech and it’s antithetical to our free speech jurisprudence and principles. It continues an alarming trend on the left: empowering the government to choose which speech is acceptable and which is not.”
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Related Issues: Labor
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