McConnell Speaks Out Against Administration’s Labor Board ‘Ambush’ Rule
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the NLRB ‘Ambush’ Rule:
“Recently, the Senate has had a lot of discussion about partisan overreach.
“We’ve talked about an Administration that seems to view democracy as what it can get away with, not what it can work cooperatively to achieve.
“It’s worrying for our country. And we keep seeing more examples of it.
“Consider the Administration’s effort to weaken workers’ rights.
“This Administration’s appointees on the National Labor Relations Board released their so-called ‘ambush’ rule back in December. It’s designed with one purpose in mind: to fatten the wallets of powerful political bosses by weakening the rights of middle-class workers.
“Republicans believe a worker has the right to make her own, informed choices about joining a union. We don’t think powerful political bosses should attempt to make that decision for her. But that’s just what this rule aims to achieve. These bosses think they can enrich their own coffers if they can deny workers real opportunities to weigh the pros and cons of joining a union.
“For instance: In an era of stagnant wages, does a worker want to see her paycheck shrink so a political boss can attend more campaign fundraisers?
“Republicans think that’s a choice for her to make.
“Does a worker want to give up her right to demand better pay or a promotion she deserves—to cede those decisions to a distant political organization?
“Republicans think she has a right to make these choices for herself, and that she has a right to make them in an informed way.
“But the Administration’s ‘ambush’ rule would dramatically weaken her ability to do so. In many cases, it wouldn’t even allow her more than a handful of days to weigh the pros and cons of such a costly and important decision.
“That’s not fair. And it’s not just me saying that. Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: ‘There should be at least a 30-day interval’ for union elections, he said. He noted that these 30 days represent a safeguard against ‘rushing employees into an election where they are unfamiliar with the issues.’
“Kennedy was right.
“And there’s another important issue at stake here too.
“Just as Republicans think a worker has a right to make her own, informed choices.
“Republicans also think her personal information is none of the business of powerful political bosses. But the Administration’s ‘ambush’ rule would allow these bosses to access things like her email address and cell number — without her permission. It also would allow these bosses to track her, to know exactly when and where she’s working — without her permission.
“She can’t opt out. She can’t unsubscribe.
“This is really chilling.
“This is really extreme.
“And what about the men and women who rise early every day to fulfill their dreams — the men and women who provide so many opportunities for others to fulfill theirs? This ‘ambush’ rule is also aimed at preventing someone with a small business of her own from even having a real conversation with her employees about the costs and benefits of joining a union. The ‘ambush’ rule would give extraordinary power to political bosses on the outside, while shutting her voice down — the one person who probably knows more about, and who cares more about, her employees than anyone else.
“After years spent building a dream and caring about the men and women who helped her get there, this rule is an insult to entrepreneurs like her.
“Moreover, it’s not the men and women on the assembly line who are demanding this ‘ambush’ rule.
“So who’s demanding it?
“It’s powerful political bosses who worry that more and more workers are making an informed choice not to join a union. These bosses are worried about what informed choices could mean for them: less money and less power. So this far-reaching rule, the so-called ‘Mount Everest of regulations,’ is not the result of the Administration seeking out the best policy; it’s just another example of the Administration seeing what it can get away with. It’s a brazen attempt to enrich powerful political friends of the White House by weakening workers’ rights.
“It’s not fair for workers. It’s not right for our country.
“And my good friends, the Senior Senators from Tennessee and Wyoming, are here to explain what Congress plans to do to stand up for basic fairness in the workplace. They’re going to talk about this latest example of partisan executive overreach, the kind of overreach that’s coming to define the Obama Administration, and what Congress plans to do next.”
Related Issues: Labor, Jobs, Regulations, Middle Class
Next Previous
